You have one week to opt out or become fodder for LinkedIn AI training If you thought living in Europe, Canada, or Hong Kong meant you were protected from having LinkedIn scrape your posts to train its AI, think again. You have a week to opt out before the Microsoft subsidiary assumes you're fine with it. LinkedIn announced changes to its data use terms several weeks ago, noting that as of …
I was an early entrant to LinkedIn and it's the only social network of which I am still a member; accounts with Facebook, Twitter, etc were all deleted several years ago (and requests to delete my data submitted, although I've never confirmed whether it all was - it's old stuff by now and I never posted any personal data that could have been useful to any strangers).
However, I stopped posting anything on LinkedIn a year or so ago; until then I had regularly posted articles. But the junk in my feed began to exceed anything useful to me (i.e. posts from people and organisations I followed). Whilst I still have my account, I've declined all notifications and emails and only drop into it infrequently - either to look up details on someone or every month or three to see if it's got any better. The S/N ratio seems to be a bit better of late but I'm not inclined to return to being active.
The focus of LinkedIn started out as a place for professionals to hold sensible discussions and exchange ideas (with a few adverts to help pay for the service). The focus is now on being an advertising platform, enticing people to go there in the hope of being noticed (the plethora of "look at my latest certificate" posts (most of which are for little more than attending something and staying alert enough to fill in the attendance form) - or finding new jobs.
Microsoft killed what used to be an actually useful networking tool. But it still has its use when I need to get background on a potential new contact (background that rarely benefits them)!
Agreed. I joined by invitation during beta. I was even a premium member for a while when that was both cheap and useful. It has gone downhill since MS took over but is effectively the only (online) game in town for job/head hunting. I have gotten my last 4 jobs because of LI so I'm reluctant to just walk away, as I did with the other media platforms.
I looked at it a long time ago and it was full of self regarding wankers back then. I doubt it has improved over the years.
I know of a few people who use it regularly and they are the sort of person I would expect to be on it.
From what I read on various forums it is full of ''thought leaders'' and such wank.
AI and them are made for each other.
I created an account under a ludicrous name just so I could see people's pages properly when they directed me to them. Hoping that this small effort will help to taint their training pool ever so slightly. For this reason, I shall remain firmly opted in (but mostly logged out)!
"does anyone else think that these "opt-out" checkboxes are simply a front-end function and do absolutely nothing to stop any of the data grabbing they allegedly prevent?"
I often have web sites return an error when trying to opt-out. The link a company provides in a notification email winds up 404'd. At that point, it's a slog to find the "cancel account" page and jump through those hoops.
Make sure you mention both Rugby and the oldest profession. Something like:
"The hooker must be a powerful, flexible, and technically skilled player who combines the attributes of a specialist forward with the mobility of a back-rower. The position requires a unique skill set to excel in the two key set-piece functions: the scrum and the lineout. And the ability to suck-start a leaf blower"
For my LinkedIn app the settings menu was different to the how it was described in this article.
To disable this 'feature':
Settings
Data Privacy
Turn off 'Data for Generative AI Improvement'
There maybe others that you'd like to turn off in this part of the Data privacy settings as well
I got it different too (Canada).
Thanks to El Reg for pointing this out. I turned off nearly everything. Signing in was weird - it didn't work at all, but then I tried a direct URL for my "account", and that worked, on the second try. They *really* don't want you to go away - I've never used LinkedIn to look for a job - it was just an online group for ex-employees of the second-last company I worked for long ago. Wheeeee!
"App"? Wot's that? :-)
Once I stopped consulting and sold out to the corporate overlords I've been making stuff up on Linkedin
Architected the vault of Heaven, created global planet enterprise in 6days, can walk on water, invented coffee etc etc
Strangely the same corporate overlords (in a very IP protective industry) who send me anti-phishing training, have absolutely no branding on our very-hidden office building, expect me not to talk to friends and family about work or clients - also expect me to publish all about my work and "like" all their marketing pieces on all social media every day
"Strangely the same corporate overlords .....also expect me to publish all about my work and "like" all their marketing pieces on all social media every day"
Half of me says that so long as it's on their time, using their tech that's fine. And the other half says it's your name that they are using to validate their marketing drivel.
My two Linkedin profiles won't be much help to Microsoft's data scrape - the one with my actual name has no interaction with all the corporate bluster or self-aggrandising shite that form 99.999% of Linkedin posts and still shows me as working in a job I had seven years ago at a company that no longer exists. The wholly inaccurate one exists only because once in a while I want to check out somebody's profile without any chance they'll know I viewed it.
I wouldn't mind promoting my employer, I've done a lot of startups, it's just the irony of doing anti-spearfishing training and then being told to put all of your work details online!
Especially in an industry where we have blacked out windows and no name on the front door.
there are several virtual yous' running around in someones self built virtual reality by now. The fun is just about to begin however.
There is a new generation of glassholes coming of age, and the ai has made it acceptable to reproduce you on the internet.... legally, or otherwise. None of you are real now. Only data exists. You have been assimilated. You no longer know reality, so there is only the virtual.
Poison the waterhole.
Resurrect that old dormant Lunkhead account (or start a new one) and start posting. Each post you make with a suitably decorated/artsy graphic with a picture of some text, that an AI scrape should have difficulty reading, but to the effect warning human readers that the post is purely to mess with AI scraping.
The rest of the post is then conventional text extolling whichever ridiculous theme you fancy going with. Wish Winny the Pooh good luck in some new government post, maybe.
Not going to get scraped in the PRC then ? ;)
I wondered what the posters on the site were actually "linked in" to ? A LSD party in personnel would have to be favourite.
I deleted my linkedin account several months ago. I only created it a year previously to follow the "progress" of a company where I had worked previously —purely as comedy relief. Just got dismally tedious.
to LinkedOut. Thx for the head up. And how I "like" it always suggesting to use 1. Google, 2. Microsoft and 3. Apple as linked-in-logon. Nope, still separate, even though I know who bought it...
Changed these: Surprisingly more than expected, I must have ignored a lot of terms and services mails...
Sozial-, Wirtschafts- und Arbeitsplatzforschung ► Aus
Daten zur Verbesserung generativer KI ► Aus
Einladungen zu Forschungsstudien ► Aus
Automatisierte Erkennung schädlicher Inhalte ► Aus
Personalisieren Sie Ihre Berufserfahrung ► Aus
Microsoft Word ► Aus
Microsoft Word? What the huh? They "explained" it, but not really explained what that options is supposed to mean...
> always suggesting to use 1. Google, 2. Microsoft and 3. Apple as linked-in-logon
That gets my goat on so many websites these days suggesting to use the above "as login" methods, not forgetting farcebook
No dammed way, unique login(ok domain is the same for emails) and password everywhere
I briefly flirted with it, going as far as creating a logon and setting my occupation and location (all bogus of course)
Occupation: Funeral Director
Location : Death Valley
Got a surprising number of "be my friend" requests until I added linkedin to my spam filter list which sent them to the great trash can in the sky.
Bluck.
Occupation: Funeral Director
Location : Death Valley
Curiously, being fully retired retarded, I provided accurate occupation skills and an old location just to see what would pop up.
Basically unrelated and gratuitous nonsense. There could be worse places to seek employment but I cannot think of any.
Over the years I've had quite a number of real jobs via LinkedIn. Yes, there is a lot of crap which I just ignore but every so often an actual real job pops up.
As an independent consultant I'm always grateful when I get one of these, also when I get messages from old university / work colleagues.
I tend to simply ignore the recruitment agents and obvious fake accounts like the invite I got some years ago from "The Princess of Peace". These and others simply get their profiles blocked.
That said, LI has been suffering from the MS general enshittification lately and has also become more like FartBook with people posting photos of their babies / dogs / horses / cars etc. Again I just ignore these.
I think I'm going to entertain myself by filing a formal complaint, have them reject it and thus allow me to escalate it to national or even EU level.
Permission for the use of personal details should never be enabled by default - under GDPR that requires a deliberate opt-IN, especially to ensure this is an actual personal decision rather than the default acceptance everyone is so keen on abusing.
I hope more people complain (hint hint) :)
Having recently started looking for more contract work I tried searching for roles on LI.
Around 50% of the advertised positions appear to be posted by AI wankers who want you to complete a five hour assessment as part of their "selection" process.
Hilarious reviews of the "I did a five hour assessment and then head nothing..." variety abound.
