How to Check LinkedIn Messages

Your LinkedIn inbox is a goldmine of professional opportunities just waiting to be discovered. This guide will walk you through exactly how to check your messages on any device, manage your inbox efficiently, and uncover conversations that can truly move your career or business forward.

Checking LinkedIn Messages: The Essential Guide

Navigating to your LinkedIn messages is a straightforward process, whether you're working from your desk or on the go. The interface is clean and designed for quick access. Once you know where to look, you'll be able to check your inbox in seconds.

How to Check LinkedIn Messages on a Desktop Browser

Using LinkedIn on a computer provides the most expansive view of your inbox, making it ideal for managing multiple conversations at once. The layout is designed to feel familiar, like an email client, with your conversations on one side and the active message thread on the other.

Follow these simple steps:

1. Log In to Your Account: Open your preferred web browser and navigate to LinkedIn.com. Enter your credentials to log in.
2. Locate the "Messaging" Icon: Look at the top navigation bar. You'll see a row of icons for "Home," "My Network," "Jobs," and more. The "Messaging" icon, which looks like a speech bubble, is located here. If you have unread messages, a red circle with a number will be displayed over the icon.
3. Open Your Inbox: Click on the "Messaging" icon. This will take you to your full inbox. On the left side, you'll see a scrollable list of all your conversations. Clicking on any conversation in this list will open the full thread in the main panel on the right.

From this view, you can reply to messages, attach files, send images, and see the full history of your conversation with a specific connection.

How to Check LinkedIn Messages on the Mobile App (iOS &, Android)

The LinkedIn mobile app is perfect for checking messages when you're away from your computer. The experience is optimized for smaller screens, ensuring you can stay responsive no matter where you are.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the App: Tap the LinkedIn app icon on your phone to open it.
2. Find the Messaging Icon: The location can vary slightly depending on your device and app version. Typically, you will find the "Messaging" icon (a speech bubble with three dots inside) in the top right corner of the screen next to the search bar. Tapping it will open your full inbox.
3. Navigate Your Conversations: Once in your inbox, you'll see a list of your most recent conversations. Tap on any one of them to open the full message thread and send a reply. You can easily scroll through all your messages and search for specific people or keywords using the search bar at the top of the inbox screen.

Beyond the Basics: Navigating Different Message Types

Your LinkedIn inbox isn't just one big list of messages. It's cleverly sorted into different folders to help you distinguish between messages from your direct connections and outreach from others. Understanding these distinctions is fundamental to managing your professional communication effectively and not missing out on hidden opportunities.

The Primary Inbox

This is your main hub for communication. By default, it displays all your active conversations with your first-degree connections and people you've messaged before. Think of this as your go-to space for ongoing dialogues with colleagues, clients, and established contacts.

Message Requests: The "Hidden" Inbox

Many users don’t realize this folder exists, but it's one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn inbox. The "Message Requests" folder holds messages from people you are not yet connected with. Recruiters, potential clients, and conference organizers often reach out this way. If you ignore this folder, you could be leaving valuable opportunities on the table.

To check Message Requests on desktop:

• Go to your main message inbox.
• Above your message list on the left, you'll see tabs for "Focused" and "Other." Sometimes, Message Requests appear as a separate filter or category just above or below these tabs. LinkedIn often updates its UI, so look for a filter option labeled "Message requests" or "Invitations."
• Click on it to see a list of messages from people outside your network. From here, you can choose to Accept the message (which moves it to your main inbox) or Decline/Delete it. Accepting does not automatically create a connection, it simply allows the two of you to communicate.

To check Message Requests on mobile:

• Open your inbox by tapping the "Messaging" icon.
• At the top of the conversation list, you should see tabs or filters. Tap on the "Message Requests" tab to view them.

Regularly check this folder. A forgotten message in this section could be the job offer or business pitch you’ve been waiting for.

Sponsored Messages (InMail)

Sponsored messages, often referred to as Sponsored InMail, are essentially paid advertisements sent directly to your inbox by companies or marketers. You can usually identify them by a "Sponsored" label visible near the sender's name in your inbox list. While they are promotional in nature, some might be relevant, offering information on webinars, products, or services suited to your professional profile. They typically appear in your main inbox and require no action if you're not interested.

Pro Tips for Managing Your LinkedIn Inbox

Checking messages is easy, but managing them efficiently is what separates a networking novice from a professional powerhouse. An organized inbox allows you to prioritize important conversations, respond promptly, and maintain a polished professional brand. Here are some actionable strategies to keep your LinkedIn messaging clear and effective.

Use Filters to Find What You Need - Fast

As you build your network, your inbox can become crowded. Trying to manually find a conversation from two weeks ago is not a great use of your time. This is where filters become your best friend.

From your inbox, click the filter icon to access several useful sorting options:

• Unread: Instantly see only the messages waiting for a reply. This is the best way to tackle your messaging to-do list.
• My Connections: Hides messages from non-connections and InMail, allowing you to focus on conversations with people you already know.
• InMail: Isolates messages sent through LinkedIn's premium messaging service, which can be helpful if you're actively job searching and receiving a lot of recruiter outreach.
• Archived: Shows you conversations you’ve hidden from your main inbox.

Use these filters to systematically work through your messages instead of feeling overwhelmed by a single, massive list.

Archive, Delete, or Mute Conversations

Not every conversation needs to stay in your inbox forever. Learning to triage your messages with these three options will bring a sense of calm to your digital workspace. You can access these options by clicking the three dots (`...`) next to any message in your conversation list.

• Archive: Use this for conversations that are complete but you might want to reference later. Maybe it's details for a completed project or contact information you've already saved elsewhere. Archiving removes the conversation from your main inbox view but doesn't delete it. Simply use the "Archived" filter to find it again later.
• Delete: This option permanently removes the conversation from your view. It's best used for spam, irrelevant messages, or conversations you know with 100% certainty you will never need again. Warning: Deleting is permanent, so use it with care.
• Mute: Perfect for LinkedIn Group conversations or threads that have become distracting with frequent notifications. Muting stops push notifications for a chat without you having to leave it or delete it. The conversation will remain in your inbox, but it won't demand your attention with constant buzzing.

Optimize Your Response Workflow

For busy professionals, time is everything. Responding to every message from scratch is inefficient, especially when you receive similar types of inquiries frequently.

Consider creating a simple document on your computer with a few pre-written response templates. You can craft polite, professional replies for common scenarios like:

• Responding to a generic connection request.
• Declining a sales pitch you're not interested in.
• Thanking someone for reaching out about a potential collaboration and asking for more details.

These aren't meant to be impersonal, robotic replies. Think of them as starting points that you can quickly customize for each person. This approach ensures you remain responsive and professional while saving you significant time each week.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to check your LinkedIn messages is just the start. The real skill lies in managing your inbox proactively on both desktop and mobile, checking the Message Requests folder, and using features like archiving and filters to keep things organized. This deliberate approach turns your inbox from a cluttered space into a powerful engine for building relationships and discovering new professional avenues.

As your brand grows, juggling messages extends beyond just LinkedIn. Add in Instagram DMs, Facebook comments, and X replies, and staying on top of every conversation can feel like a full-time job. To solve this, we built Postbase with a unified social inbox. It brings all your comments and DMs from every platform into one clean feed, so you can manage your community without bouncing between a dozen different apps and browser tabs.