LinkedIn Adds Verification Controls for Profiles and Employers

LinkedIn expands its verification toolkit

LinkedIn has announced new measures aimed at fake profiles and inaccurate work histories, adding member-to-member vouching, employer controls and expanded identity partnerships. The changes build on verification tools that have verified 115 million members and more than 700,000 companies on the professional network.

The announcement comes as artificial intelligence makes it easier to construct false accounts and identities for scams and online manipulation. On a platform where employment records, job titles, qualifications and education can influence professional opportunities, LinkedIn is seeking to provide clearer signals about whether those claims are credible.

Oscar Rodriguez, LinkedIn’s vice president of product, said the cost of faking credibility has fallen while the importance of demonstrating credibility has increased. LinkedIn has positioned verification as a way for members and companies to retain greater control over their presence on the service.

Verified connections can confirm shared experience

The new vouching feature lets members confirm that they worked or studied with a colleague or classmate, whether the relationship was in the past or is current. It is distinct from an endorsement: the purpose is to confirm a shared period of experience, not to recommend the person’s skills or performance.

LinkedIn has attached several safeguards to the process. A person providing a vouch must already have a verified profile, must have been connected to the other member for at least one year, and must use two-factor authentication. The account-security requirement is intended to reduce the chance that compromised accounts are used to make fraudulent confirmations.

Employers gain controls over claimed affiliations

A feature previously piloted with recruiters and executives will allow company page administrators to remove accounts that falsely claim employment from their company page and from search results associated with that page. Administrators can visit the relevant account and remove its association manually.

LinkedIn is also testing a setting under which a page can require future members who seek to associate with it to complete workplace verification, such as verification through a work email address. Removing an association does not alter a member’s own profile, which remains under that member’s control. It does, however, remove the clickable company-page link and means the work experience will no longer appear as verified.

The employer control is focused on full-time employees rather than contractors or field workers, although LinkedIn said those groups will have other methods of claiming an appropriate connection to their employer.

Identity signals extend beyond LinkedIn

LinkedIn is also adding Truecaller and PeerSpot to partnerships that let members display their verified identity beyond its platform. Adobe and UserTesting are existing partners. For example, a Truecaller member can add a LinkedIn verified identity that is displayed to the recipient of a call.

LinkedIn said verified members receive, on average, 50% more post views and 90% more impressions than non-verified profiles. For businesses and professionals, the practical implication is that verified identity, protected accounts and accurate employer associations are becoming increasingly useful trust signals when evaluating professional contacts.