Ask LH: How Can I Show My Twitter Address On LinkedIn Without Giving It Full Access?


Hi Lifehacker, I’ve just recently started a Twitter account. I wanted to add my Twitter handle to my LinkedIn profile but I found that LinkedIn wouldn’t let me just do that. It tried to force me to link my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, not something I particularly want to do. Is it a bad idea to do this? Is there anything else I can do? Thanks, Linked Enough

Dear LE,

As you mention, if you try and add your Twitter address to your LinkedIn profile, LinkedIn will seek authorised access to your Twitter account, meaning it can post tweets on your behalf and track who you follow. If you value your privacy or just like to keep your social networks separate, that’s not always ideal. However, if you choose not to authorise LinkedIn’s access, you can’t add your address in the relevant field.

Fortunately, there’s a workaround: add your Twitter account details and authorise LinkedIn, then revoke the permissions from within Twitter itself. Here’s what you need to do (these instructions assume you’re signed in to both Twitter and LinkedIn within your browser):

  • On LinkedIn, click on Profile –> Edit Profile at the top of the screen, then click on Edit Contact Info partway down the screen. Click on the pen symbol next to Twitter, then click on ‘Add your Twitter account’. An authorisation request will pop up. Click on ‘Authorize app’, then click on ‘Save changes’. (Make sure ‘Display your Twitter account on your LinkedIn profile’ is ticked.)
  • Go to Twitter, click on the gear symbol in the top right corner, and choose Settings. Click on Apps in the left-hand column, and scroll down until you find LinkedIn. Click on Revoke access to remove LinkedIn.

With these steps completed, your Twitter account name will still display on LinkedIn (and link through to your profile), but LinkedIn itself won’t have access. Easy! Doing this means you won’t be able to cross-post to Twitter from LinkedIn’s own status updates, but not everyone wants to do that anyway.

Cheers
Lifehacker

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