LinkedIn will train AI on member data by default starting November 2025

LinkedIn will begin training its AI models on member profiles, posts, resumes, and public activity starting November 3, 2025, with the feature enabled by default across multiple regions including the UK, EU, Canada, and Hong Kong. The move has sparked user frustration primarily because members must actively opt out rather than opt in, and any data collected before opting out will remain in LinkedIn’s training environment permanently.

What you should know: The new AI training policy affects millions of LinkedIn users across six major regions and territories.

• Users in the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland, Canada, and Hong Kong will have their data used to train LinkedIn’s AI tools unless they specifically opt out.
• The setting will be enabled by default under Microsoft’s “legitimate interest” legal framework, meaning users must take action to prevent their data from being used.
• Data from users under 18 will be excluded from AI training, LinkedIn confirmed.

How to opt out: LinkedIn has made the process relatively straightforward compared to typical social media privacy settings.

• Users can find the “Data for Generative AI Improvement” option under “How LinkedIn uses your data” in the “Data privacy” section of Settings.
• Alternatively, members can submit objections through LinkedIn’s Data Processing Objection form for broader AI training opt-outs.
• However, the opt-out only applies to data collected after the user changes their settings—previous data remains accessible for AI training.

The bigger picture: LinkedIn joins other major social platforms in using member data for AI development, following similar moves by competitors.

• Meta announced in September 2024 that it would train AI models on Facebook and Instagram user data, initially pausing after regulatory pushback before resuming with clearer opt-out options.
• Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, can implement this default setting because it’s classified as “legitimate interest” under current data protection laws.

Why this matters: The policy change reflects the growing demand for training data as AI companies race to improve their models, but it also highlights ongoing tensions between user privacy expectations and corporate AI ambitions.