this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024

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PSA: LinkedIn is using your data. (feddit.org)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Mastodon Toot.

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[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I might be wrong but the fact that they enable the option by default to everyone (but EU it seems) allow themselves to collect all the posts you already made right away.

Turning it off will only prevent them from using your future posts.

So they already have trained their AI with your data. They certainly won't "untrain" it after you switch the option off. You can't unring that bell...

All companies are using this scumbag approach to get your data: auto opt-in everyone, get all existing data then give the illusion that you can opt-out with a useless option.

I hate this

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 month ago

To add to this, I'm shocked anyone actually believes these toggles do anything. Time and again these companies have proven that they merely "respect" your wishes and they'll do whatever they want, then pay the slap-on-the-wrist fine later.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean this is exactly why GDPR and legislation that dictates users own their data is so important.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Indeed, but I doubt these companies actually respect it

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 month ago (3 children)

This setting is under 'Data privacy' - > 'How LinkedIn uses your data' - > 'Data for generative AI improvement'

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago

Missing in the Netherlands too. Maybe they excluded EU till they have bribed enough people to allow it.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Don't see it here in Sweden.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Same, also in Sweden.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I don't have that setting at all? Maybe being rolled out in waves or something?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm from the UK on mobile. Maybe it's a geographic or platform thing?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

That's because you left the EU.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Whoever actually posts to Linkedin is already lost in the sauce I'm afraid

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You don't have to post to LinkedIn to have your data on it. Unfortunately it's almost a prerequisite to any serious job seeking in many fields.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Personal data and content you create. So it's training off of your resume. I put a lot of effort into mine. LinkedIn can compensate me if they want to train a model off of it.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unfortunately for the AI models, about 95% of LinkedIn posts are total shite with no value whatsoever.

I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined Faceless Employee-Hating Corporation as a Senior wage Slave! I'm really looking forward to pouring my heart and soul into their profiteering endeavors over the next few years until their board lays me off so they can all afford another luxury yacht!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Congratulations on becoming a corporate slave! I hope you will have wonderful time there!

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yes surely toggling this setting will stop them! They won't totally just do it anyway regardless of your little toggle

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Whoopsie-doodle, we accidentally turned the toggle back on the second you weren't looking. Soooorry *shrug*

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 month ago (5 children)

When people ask me why I don't have a LinkedIn account, I always respond with "I have a resume". What even is the point of this site?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've yet to find any sort of success from using LinkedIn to find job opportunities. Of all the job hunting sites out there, I find it the least helpful, often giving preference to employers rather than candidates in the hiring process. It sucks ass.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I used it after I was laid off 2 years ago and was able to find a new job after a little less than 3 months. Which sites do you have experience with that you'd recommend?

And to be clear, I found LinkedIn useful for job hunting... as a social media site it is horrible. Full of people who define themselves by their paychecks, salespeople who are just looking for someone to cold call, and 'self-made successful people' looking for success and validation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I'm unsure if it's different here outside the States. I've been using Indeed and its local variants where I at least get someone on the phone regularly. But on LinkedIn, it's like all my applications fall into a void. Even recruiters who cold-contact me on there with an offer seem to ghost me immediately. It doesn't help that it's the only site where salaries aren't posted, which is kind of a big deal considering how little some companies want to pay for junior and mid-level devs.

But tbh, sometimes I feel like companies exploit the application process to get people's info to input into a marketing database. I once got on a call with someone asking me for my height and weight. Like, what does my body size have to do with the job where I sit at a computer all day? Maybe I'm wrong but those kinds of details can only be used for discrimination or to kidnap me, right? Even my friend was weirded out by that one when I asked him if that had ever happened to him over the years and he said no.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

It used to be a registry for resumes to connect with other professionals for future opportunities or let them leave recommendations to validate credentials and skills. They added the job platform which was a good idea, but there are no minimum requirements for it and now it's crap - of course the job search function is crap too since it never really finds what you want, only what others have looked at a lot and are somewhat in the field of your search term.

LinkedIn could've been a very useful site had they not strayed, but it's too late now.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Having a central repository of resumes and how those people are connected is valuable. Seeing that I know someone who knows someone else is useful when applying for a job or reaching out as a salesperson. Even just knowing that a position with x title exists at y company is useful when searching for jobs or clients.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

The networking is most valuable. I have my career because of being contacted via LinkedIn. It's also a good tool to monitor certain trends if you have a decent network. For instance, if you are thinking of taking a job with company A, but nobody you know of who went there lasted longer than a year, you know it's probably not a good place to work.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Depending on your line of work, recruiters.

Most are trash but the ones that are real have landed me very good work.

I never job hunt any more, companies just come to me, and I just interview throughout the year.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

And unlike with Reddit and Stack Overflow (other platforms that have pulled shit like this) , poisoning your data to sabotage generative AI efforts is going to make you look like a fucking degenerate in front of current and past employers.

This is pretty fucking evil.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago

Changed it. But the fact it was already enabled by default means they’ve already hoovered a copy of my data. Turning it off now just means they won’t get any updates.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What pissed me off is that when I was in university, I spoke with a career coach and I mentioned I wanted to make a website for my portfolio, and he just said why don’t you use LinkedIn. I explained him why it’s bad to use a proprietary tool, he just didn’t get it.

Man, so many times I want to go back in time and punch him in the face (not really, but I should have reacted more harshly back then and never took his advice).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Why does that piss you off? It sounds like you had a conversation. Maybe he did get it, just thought you were wrong and/or overweighting things you found important, that he did not.

If you want to hamstring your career by not having a presence on the world's biggest careers website then that's perfectly okay - but I do not think a professor at University should be advising that course and would be failing their students if they did.

I am not saying you're wrong, and I do understand the reasons you might choose this path - but that doesn't mean you're right and that your choices are good advice for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No no, it was the advice that would personally benefit me the most. It was the “get with the times” and “it’s objectively better” attitude that pissed me off. He wasn’t telling me about the sad reality but questioned why I would question the norm.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thank you for posting. I went through the rigmarole (again) of turning off all of their data hoarding, data selling, creepy analytics stuff. Again, mind you. I’ve done it before.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ok. I'm gonna ask a question that sounds rhetorical and critical but I want you to know this is a genuine question.

Why are you using LinkedIn? What's the point? What possible service can it provide you?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Thank you for the pretext!

I was asked to make one while in college, and after college, used it alongside other platforms like Indeed, Monster, and my local state jobs board to find a job. Left it active because I don't use it for anything than reaching out to recruiters or answer them back. It has one use, and that is networking. People who use it as a social media are using it wrong, in my opinion, but to each their own!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

First of all; no shit, who isn't?

Second; oh no, robots will learn how to write bad corpo bullshit. Won't somebody please think of the PR team???

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

Thanks for reminding me that I had to close my never used LinkedIn account. I always forget because I have some other stuff to do and always say "I'll do it later". It's done now. Not that they could use anything from it since I never posted anything but still...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

LinkedIn is a place for corporate bootlickers, if anything they will be elated to hear that.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Jokes on them I don't post anything

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Treating a company as a plural always sounds awkward to me.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

It'll be very hard to prove they respect the button. Considering they probably sourced the data immediately after the button was put in place.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Linkedin of all places. That’s justi a piece of garbage

[–] Aussiemandeus 4 points 1 month ago

Cheers setting changed

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If I was a capitalist sociopath I’d go close my LinkedIn but I’m human so I never had one…

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can't wait for the bots to tell us what they learned about b2b marketing!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

LinkedIn and Microsoft has been shady for a long time. I refuse to write any posts on LinkedIn. I am not desperate for attention.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

PorgHub

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Or.

Delete your data, if you cant delete it, edit it.

Then Leave the platform

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

No shit?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Jokes on them. I already use generative AI to impersonate myself on LinkedIn.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

There are very few places on the Internet where your data won't be scraped and used for AI training. Every social media company does this, including Discord and Reddit. Federated platforms are quite easy to scrape (not sure if they are yet). Even if you make your own website, it's definitely going to be scraped by crawlers from every company wanting to make AI.

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