Has Your LinkedIn Follower Count Changed? Restricted and Hibernated Accounts Removed
If you’ve seen a change in your LinkedIn follower count recently, it’s because the platform has removed “hibernated” and “restricted” accounts from connection and follower counts for all members. According to LinkedIn, this will be an ongoing process to provide more reliable engagement and reach insights. The platform has also added new Help documentation on the topic to explain these changes.
The impact of this change will vary based on how long your account has been active, the number of connections and followers you have, and where you’ve worked or studied. But ultimately, this filtering out of inactive accounts could benefit LinkedIn users who have hit their 30,000 connection limit by allowing them to connect with active users and gain more engagement and visibility.
So what are hibernated and restricted accounts, and how can they impact your follower count? Hibernated accounts are those that a member has deactivated for a certain period of time, while restricted accounts are those that have violated LinkedIn’s Professional Community Policies or User Agreement. If these accounts become active again, they will be re-included in the follower and connection counts they were previously a part of, but will not be re-added to your audience lists if you’ve already hit the 30,000 connection limit.
In the end, follower and connection counts are just vanity metrics. However, by removing inactive accounts, LinkedIn is providing more reliable engagement and reach insights for its users. If you’re looking to improve your LinkedIn presence, consider working with Bridgewell Marketing’s SEO services to optimize your profile and grow your network.
