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On LinkedIn, a solid green circle means a connection is currently active; a hollow green circle means they are not actively using LinkedIn but have mobile-app push notifications enabled. The “green white dot” is best understood as the hollow green circle—the center is empty, not a separate white-dot status. A missing circle does not prove someone is offline.
What the green indicators mean
LinkedIn describes these symbols as active status indicators in Messaging. The hollow circle is the state closest to what people call a “green white dot.”
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| Indicator | What LinkedIn says it means | What happens when you message |
|---|---|---|
| Solid green circle | The connection is currently active. | They will be instantly notified. |
| Hollow green circle | The connection is not actively using LinkedIn, but push notifications are enabled in the LinkedIn mobile app. | They will be instantly notified through push notifications. |
| No green circle | The connection may be inactive or may have turned off active status. | Your message is still sent, but they may not see it until they access LinkedIn Messaging. |
LinkedIn Help: Active status in LinkedIn Messaging
What a hollow circle does—and does not—tell you
A hollow green circle does not mean the person is actively browsing LinkedIn at that moment. LinkedIn says they are not actively using the service, but have push notifications enabled in its mobile app. It signals that a message can prompt an instant notification; it does not confirm that the person has read your message or is available to reply.
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Likewise, a missing circle is inconclusive: the person could be inactive, or they could have disabled active status. You can still send a message, but without an active-status indicator you cannot infer when they will see it.
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Can other people see when you are active?
Yes, depending on your active-status audience setting. LinkedIn offers three choices: Your Connections only, All LinkedIn members, or No one. “Your Connections” means first-degree connections. If you choose “No one,” LinkedIn also removes your ability to see when your connections are active. The setting is reciprocal, not a one-way privacy switch.
How to turn off or change your green-dot visibility
Use LinkedIn’s active-status controls to select who can see your status. The documented paths are:
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- On desktop: Select Me → Settings & Privacy → Visibility → Manage active status, under “Visibility of your LinkedIn activity.” Choose Your Connections only, All LinkedIn members, or No one.
- In the mobile app: Tap your profile photo, then go to Settings & Privacy → Visibility → Manage active status. Select the audience you want.
If the labels or placement have changed in your version of LinkedIn, look in Visibility for Manage active status. Choosing No one also means you will not see your connections’ active status.
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Does the LinkedIn app show when someone was last active?
LinkedIn says its mobile app may show a timestamp beside a person’s photo indicating when that connection was last active. This is distinct from the solid and hollow circles, which describe current activity or mobile push-notification availability.
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