LinkedIn is using your data to train AI models

LinkedIn is facing criticism for using user data to train AI models without users’ explicit consent. The platform is collecting information such as posts, activity, and feedback to “improve its services,” and users are "auto-enrolled” in this data-sharing practice.

LinkedIn can get away with this behavior because they recently updated their user agreement adding an opt-out option for AI training which means the setting is automatically set for opting in by LinkedIn. 

When I read the USA Today article, I immediately checked my LinkedIn Privacy settings to see if they had been altered. Sure enough, there was a “Data for Generative AI Improvement” setting which was toggled to the “On” position. I clicked it off.

I’m seriously thinking about dumping them since I can’t point to anything they’ve really done for me. 

If you’re a LinkedIn user and want to opt out of the AI training, here are the steps, and to be on the safe side, you might want to check all of your settings to ensure there are no other surprises:

• Click your profile avatar in the top right-hand corner on the LinkedIn website
• Click Settings & Privacy
• Next, click Data Privacy
• Click Data for Generative AI Improvement
• Toggle the feature off

Here’s the full USA Today article which is worth reading.