If you thought your LinkedIn posts were safe from the AI training arms race, think again. The Microsoft-owned professional networking platform announced that starting Monday, November 3, 2025, it will use profile details, public posts, stream activity data and more from users in the UK, EU, Switzerland, Canada and Hong Kong to train its artificial intelligence models and power personalized ads across the Microsoft.
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Many users may be uncomfortable with their resumes, posts, and professional achievements being used as input for Microsoft’s AI genetics and advertising. Until now, LinkedIn has excluded users from these regions from participating in some automated AI training processes. This will change on November 3, 2025. The data that feeds LinkedIn’s models includes profile details, posts, and public activity, while private messages are excluded. Additional data from LinkedIn will also be shared with other Microsoft-related business entities for the purpose of providing more personalized and relevant ads.
The good news is that it's possible to opt out, but by default, LinkedIn has decided that users would prefer to opt in. If you do nothing, Microsoft's AI and advertising engine will use your data.
If LinkedIn’s one billion members worldwide truly believed that the tech giant’s AI training was beneficial and valued personalized advertising, it would be easy to encourage users to opt in. Requiring users to opt out suggests that the company knows that most people won’t bother or may not know how to do it.
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LinkedIn is already a treasure trove for scammers and cybercriminals, who thrive on the information shared on the platform. Feeding richer data directly to AI models could increase the risk that automated spear-phishing attacks will become more reliable, as the models will have more real profile data and context to work with.
If you or your company value control over the dissemination of your profile data, you should take action now. Visit LinkedIn > Settings & Privacy > Data Privacy > “Data to Improve AI Genetics” and turn it off if you don’t want your data used to train LinkedIn’s AI models.
To prevent your profile from being used for ad targeting across Microsoft, scroll down to find options that can be turned on or off: “Ads outside of LinkedIn,” “Data from others for ads,” “Measure ad success,” and “Share data with partners and affiliates.” Make sure all of these are turned off to minimize the chances of your profile being used for ad targeting.
In a corporate environment, you may not have direct control over staff profiles on LinkedIn, but you can update your social media policies and remind staff that their profiles will now be part of an AI training pool unless they opt out. It may also be a good time to remind employees of the dangers of sharing too much information on any social network.
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LinkedIn users in the US have already been subjected to AI training data collection for some time. More tech companies are adopting an “anything goes” attitude when it comes to training their AI systems. This is not just a LinkedIn problem, but a societal issue. Take steps to reduce the risks to yourself and your organization if you are concerned about these practices.
