TL;DR
LinkedIn scraping works but carries account risk. Use dedicated scraping accounts. Never scrape with your main profile. Pre-built actors reduce technical risk. Stay under 100-200 profiles per day per account.
The LinkedIn Situation
LinkedIn has 1 billion users. Every recruiter, sales team, and researcher wants that data. LinkedIn does not want you to have it.
They invest heavily in detection. Accounts get restricted. Some get banned permanently. The stakes are real.
But scraping works if you do it right.
What You Can Get
LinkedIn data available via scraping:
| Data Type | Difficulty | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Public profiles | Easy | Low |
| Search results | Medium | Medium |
| Company pages | Easy | Low |
| Job listings | Easy | Low |
| Posts and articles | Medium | Low |
| Sales Navigator data | Hard | High |
The Safe Approach
Rule 1: Never Use Your Main Account
Create dedicated accounts for scraping. Expect them to get restricted eventually. Treat them as disposable.
One restricted scraping account costs nothing. One restricted main account costs your professional network.
Rule 2: Stay Under Rate Limits
LinkedIn watches for unusual activity. Safe limits:
- Profile views: 80-100 per day
- Search results: 200-300 per day
- Connection requests: 20-30 per day (not scraping, but related)
Spread activity across hours. Do not scrape 100 profiles in 10 minutes.
Rule 3: Use Residential Proxies
LinkedIn blocks datacenter IPs aggressively. Residential proxies look like normal users. They cost more but avoid instant blocks.
Rule 4: Warm Up New Accounts
New accounts get extra scrutiny. Before scraping:
- Complete the profile (photo, experience, education)
- Connect with a few real people
- Browse normally for a week
- Start scraping slowly (20-30 profiles/day)
- Increase gradually over 2-3 weeks
Pre-Built LinkedIn Actors
Apify has several LinkedIn scrapers. Top options:
| Actor | What It Does | Auth Needed |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Profile Scraper | Full profile data | Yes (cookies) |
| LinkedIn Company Scraper | Company page data | Optional |
| LinkedIn Jobs Scraper | Job listings | No |
| LinkedIn Posts Scraper | Posts and engagement | Yes (cookies) |
How to Provide Cookies
Most LinkedIn actors need your session cookies. Here is how:
- Log into LinkedIn in Chrome
- Open DevTools (F12)
- Go to Application > Cookies > linkedin.com
- Copy the li_at cookie value
- Paste into the actor's cookie field
Session cookies expire. You need to refresh them every few weeks.
What Gets You Banned
Avoid these behaviors:
- Scraping too fast. More than 200 actions/day triggers alerts.
- Consistent patterns. Exactly 10 profiles every hour looks robotic.
- No human activity. Accounts that only scrape get flagged.
- Multiple sessions. Logging in from different IPs simultaneously.
- Sending messages automatically. LinkedIn monitors this especially hard.
Alternatives to Direct Scraping
If risk is too high, consider:
- LinkedIn API: Official but limited. Requires app approval.
- Data vendors: Buy LinkedIn data from legal aggregators.
- Public profiles only: Google-indexed profiles require no login.
Legal Considerations
The hiQ v. LinkedIn case established that scraping public data is legal. But:
- Logged-in content may have different rules
- LinkedIn Terms of Service prohibit scraping
- GDPR applies to European user data
- Using scraped data for spam is illegal in many places
Consult a lawyer for your specific use case.
Browse LinkedIn Scrapers
Pre-built actors handle the hard parts. You provide cookies and limits.
View LinkedIn Actors