How to Merge LinkedIn Profiles

Accidentally creating a second LinkedIn profile happens more often than you think, but it can dilute your professional brand and confuse your network. Merging duplicate accounts into one master profile is the best way to clean up your online presence and bring all your connections under one roof. This guide will walk you through exactly why you should merge your profiles, what you need to know before you start, and the step-by-step process to get it done.

Why Should You Merge Your LinkedIn Profiles?

Having more than one LinkedIn profile can actively work against your career goals. Instead of building a single source of authority, you're splitting your professional identity, making it harder for recruiters, colleagues, and potential clients to find the 'real' you. When you have two profiles, connections and endorsements get divided, recommendations might be sent to an account you rarely check, and your search visibility suffers. It creates a scattered and unprofessional impression that’s easy to avoid.

Merging your accounts solves these problems instantly. It consolidates all your hard-earned connections, centralizes your skills and endorsements, and creates a single, authoritative profile that represents your complete professional story. A unified profile not only looks more professional but also strengthens your network and makes it easier for opportunities to find you. It’s a simple act of digital housekeeping that pays significant dividends for your personal brand.

Before You Begin: What You Need to Know

Merging LinkedIn profiles is a permanent action, so it's important to understand what happens before you proceed. Once you merge two accounts, the duplicate profile is permanently closed and cannot be reopened. You'll need to choose one account to be your primary profile (the one you keep) and one to be the duplicate profile (the one you'll close and merge).

Choosing Your Primary Account

Deciding which profile to keep is the most important first step. You'll want to designate the profile that is most complete and has the most valuable data as your primary account. Here’s a quick checklist to help you decide:

• Connections: Which account has the most connections? All connections from the duplicate account will be transferred to your primary account.
• Profile Information: Which profile has the most detailed summary, experience, and education sections? This information from your primary account is what will be retained.
• URL: Do you prefer the custom URL of one profile over the other? You'll keep the URL of your primary account.

In most cases, the best choice for your primary account is simply the one you've been using the most actively and has the largest network.

What Gets Transferred and What Gets Deleted?

When you merge accounts, not everything from the duplicate profile survives. Understanding this is key to avoiding an unpleasant surprise. The process is designed to combine your networks while preserving the professional identity of your primary account.

What gets kept from your PRIMARY profile (the one you keep):

• Profile information (photo, summary, work experience, education, headline, etc.)
• Skills and endorsements
• Recommendations
• Saved articles and learning course progress
• Your followed influencers, companies, and groups

What gets transferred from your DUPLICATE profile (the one you're closing):

• Your connections
• Your email addresses (they will be added to your primary account)

What will be PERMANENTLY DELETED from your DUPLICATE profile:

• All profile content (summary, experience, skills, articles, posts)
• Endorsements and recommendations
• Pending invitations
• Saved articles and content drafts
• Group memberships

Essentially, LinkedIn merges your networks but prioritizes the content and settings of your designated primary profile. Be absolutely sure you have designated the correct profile as your primary before proceeding.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Merging Your LinkedIn Profiles

Ready to combine your accounts? The process itself is fairly straightforward. Make sure you have the login email addresses and passwords for both LinkedIn accounts before you start. You will be initiating the merge from the account you intend to keep.

Step 1: Get Your Credentials in Order

Before you even click a button, confirm you can log into both accounts. Find the sign-in emails and passwords for your primary account and the duplicate one. If you've forgotten the password for the duplicate account, use LinkedIn’s "Forgot Password?" link on the sign-in page to reset it first. This simple step will prevent you from getting stuck midway through the process.

Step 2: Sign In to Your Primary Account

Open your web browser and navigate to LinkedIn.com. Sign in to the account that you want to keep. Everything you do from this point forward will be from the perspective of this primary profile.

Step 3: Navigate to the Account Merging Tool

LinkedIn has a dedicated page for this process. The easiest way to get there is to go directly to this URL: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/member-data/merge.

Alternatively, you can navigate to it manually:

1. Click on the “Me” icon (your profile picture) in the top-right corner of the navigation bar.
2. Select “Settings &, Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
3. On the next page, find the “Account management” section in the left-hand navigation.
4. Click on “Merge accounts.”

Step 4: Enter the Credentials of the Duplicate Account

You will now be on the "Merge LinkedIn accounts" page. It will reconfirm which account you’re signed into (your primary account). You’ll see fields asking for the email address and password of the account you wish to close and merge. Carefully type in the credentials for your duplicate profile and click "Submit."

Step 5: Review and Confirm the Merge

LinkedIn will display a final confirmation screen. This page clearly lays out which account will be kept and which will be closed. It also reminds you one last time what data will and won't be transferred. This is your last chance to back out. Read everything on this screen carefully to ensure you've selected the right accounts. If it all looks correct, check the box and proceed with the confirmation.

Step 6: You’re Done! Wait for Confirmation

After confirming, the merge process begins. It's usually very fast, but it can sometimes take a little while for all your connections and data to sync up. You'll receive an email notification from LinkedIn once the merge is complete. At that point, the duplicate account will officially be closed, and its connections will have been successfully transferred to your main profile.

What Should You Do After the Merge?

Once you get the confirmation email, it’s a good idea to perform a quick review of your newly consolidated profile to ensure everything is in order.

• Check Your Connections: Your total number of connections should have increased. Do a quick spot check to see if key contacts from your duplicate account are now listed as connections on your primary profile.
• Review Your Email Addresses: Go to your account settings and verify that the email addresses from your duplicate account have been added. This makes it easier for you to log in in the future, regardless of which email you remember.
• Clean Up Your Profile: Since only the profile content from your primary account was kept, take this as an opportunity to update your headline, summary, and experience sections. Make sure your profile presents the most current and polished version of your professional self.

Common Problems and How to Solve Them

While the merge process is generally smooth, you might run into a hiccup. Here are some common issues and their solutions.

"I forgot the password to my old account."

This is the most common roadblock. Go to the LinkedIn sign-in page, click "Forgot password?", and enter every old email address you can think of. LinkedIn will send a password reset link to the email associated with the account. If you no longer have access to that email, you'll need to go through LinkedIn's identity verification process to regain access.

"LinkedIn says my accounts aren't eligible to be merged."

This error can happen for a few reasons. The names on the profiles may be too different, or one of the accounts may have certain restrictions on it. The best course of action is to contact LinkedIn Support directly. They can often manually merge accounts or provide clarity on why the automated tool isn't working for your specific case.

"My connections from the duplicate account are missing!"

First, give it some time. It can take up to 24 hours for the connection databases to fully sync after a merge. Clear your browser's cache and log back in. If they still haven’t appeared after a day, reach out to LinkedIn's Help Center for support.

Final Thoughts

Cleaning up your digital footprint by merging duplicate LinkedIn profiles is a vital step toward building a strong and cohesive professional brand. By following these steps, you can quickly consolidate your network and present one clear, authoritative profile to the world.

Maintaining a consistent brand presence across all social platforms can feel like a constant battle, especially when you're managing multiple campaigns or accounts. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve exactly that problem. By bringing scheduling, engagement, planning, and analytics for all your social channels into one clean dashboard, we help you stop juggling apps and start building your brand without the chaos.