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LinkedIn, the largest professional networking platform, boasts over 1 billion users and a wealth of data on industry trends, job markets, and networking opportunities.
You can view personal data on thousands of LinkedIn profiles. However, in most cases, you must be a premium member to send messages or access contact information.
So, does LinkedIn allow scraping, and how can you upgrade your outreach campaigns with accurate data?
Actually, LinkedIn doesn’t allow data scraping and imposes strict restrictions on data access to protect user privacy and maintain the platform’s integrity.
However, various third-party software to scrape LinkedIn data without facing LinkedIn Limits.
In this article, I’ll uncover:
- What is Data Scraping?
- Does LinkedIn Allow Scraping?
- Best Practices for Ethical LinkedIn Scraping
- How Does LinkedIn Scraping Work?
- What Are LinkedIn Scraping Types?
- Can I Use LinkedIn API to Scrape Data?
- Best LinkedIn Scraping Tools
Let’s get into it.
What is Data Scraping?
Data scraping, also web scraping, is the automated process of extracting large amounts of data from websites.
Data scraping is common among:
- business owners,
- sales professionals,
- e-commerce owners,
- marketing professionals,
- and others.
There are 2 types of data scraping:
- Good Data Scraping
- Bad Data Scraping
1. Good Data Scraping
Good scraping practices include:
- Scraping only publicly available information without violating privacy rights
- Responsibly handling, storing, and using scraped data
- Using data ethically for data-driven decision-making
Companies use data scraping for gathering:
- Competitive pricing information
- Market Research Insights
- Content Ideas for Marketing Strategies
- Customer Reviews
- Contact Information for Lead Generation and Outreach Campaigns
- Accurate Client Data
2. Bad Data Scraping
Bad and illegal data scraping includes:
- Extracting sensitive data such as personal information, login credentials, or financial details
- Scraping email addresses for spamming
- Overloading Website servers with excessive requests, causing disruptions
- Ignoring website terms of service and scraping without permission
- Using scraped data for unethical purposes, such as fraud or identity theft
So, as long as you scrape public data, don’t abuse data collection tools, and respect each platform’s data collection policy, you have nothing to worry about.
Does LinkedIn Allow Scraping?
To be short, LinkedIn Scraping is not illegal, but itโs against their terms of service.
While the platform prohibits scraping, some argue that public information should be fair game.
So, you can still use scraping tools to export data from LinkedIn only by respecting LinkedIn’s Terms of Service.
Let’s see different perspectives on LinkedIn Scraping:
- Legal Point of View
- The Case of hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn
- LinkedIn Scraping Limitations
1. Legal Point Of View
The legality of LinkedIn scraping hinges on several factors:
- the methods used,
- the type of data scrape,
- and how you use the scraped data.
Data scraping can violate international data security and privacy laws.
For example, scraping data from a website whose terms of service explicitly prohibit such activity is illegal.
Unauthorized use of content scrapers violates content creators’ or copyright owners’ intellectual property rights.
The collection of sensitive information can violate international laws and regulations, such as:
- The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
- The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- The United Kingdom Data Protection Act (UK GDPR)
2. hiQ v. LinkedIn Case
In 2017, LinkedIn accused hiQ Labs of illegally scraping user profiles, violating its terms of service, and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 and again in 2022 that scraping publicly available data is not a violation of CFAA.
However, the court found that hiQ Labs violated LinkedIn’s rules by continuing to scrape after receiving a cease-and-desist letter.
So, while web scraping of public data isn’t illegal under the CFAA, actions such as ignoring cease-and-desist letters and using fake accounts are.
3. LinkedIn Scraping Limitations
In practice, LinkedIn will not restrict you if you respect the limitations they impose:
- 80 profiles exported per day with a free account
- 150 profiles exported per day with a LinkedIn Premium account
- 1000 profiles exported per day with a LinkedIn Sales Navigator account
- 2500 profiles exported per day with a Sales Navigator account + Evaboot
LinkedIn knows that recruiters and sales reps need to scrape their data, so making it illegal would cause them to lose too much business.
Best Practices For Ethical LinkedIn Scraping
Now that you’re more familiar with LinkedIn scraping limitations and the bad and good sides let’s see the best practices for conducting LinkedIn scraping ethically and responsibly and not getting banned:
- Respect user privacy: Scrap only publicly available user data and not scrap sensitive, personal info.
- Control your scraping frequency: Limit it to avoid overwhelming LinkedIn’s servers with excessive requests.
- Use official APIs: Whenever possible, use LinkedIn’s official APIs to ensure compliance with their policies.
- Keep Transparency: If contacted by LinkedIn regarding your scraping activities, be open and honest about your purpose.
Remember, on LinkedIn, you can find data in the 3 following categories:
- Personal Profile
- Company Page
- Job Offers
Depending on your subscription plan and if the users have public profiles or not, you can access data like:
- Profile/Account name
- Job title
- Company name
- Contact info: Email, phone number
- School or University name
- Skills
- Life event reminders
- Etc
This way, you know what data you can get by scraping LinkedIn, so you can specify it and avoid targeting other illegal and personal data extraction.
What Are LinkedIn Scraping Types?
There are 3 types of LinkedIn scraping:
- Cloud-Based LinkedIn Scraping
- Browser-Based LinkedIn Scraping
- Desktop-Based LinkedIn Scraping
1. Cloud-Based LinkedIn Scraping
Cloud-based scraping uses web cookies to run your LinkedIn activity from dedicated servers.
There is nothing to install on your browser or desktop.
Pros
- Runs when your PC is turned off
- Uses proxies and VPN
- Dedicated IP address
- Can manage multiple accounts at the same time
- Less likely to be banned by your company
Cons
- Uses a different IP address than yours
- May use LinkedIn API a lot
- If LinkedIn notices, you might be temporarily restricted
2. Browser-Based LinkedIn Scraping
Browser-based scraping runs its automation by simulating clicks directly on your browser and replicating human behavior.
They need a Chrome Extension to function and take control over your browser.
Pros
- Usually less expensive (no server costs)
- Easy to set up
- Offers many features
Cons
- You need to have a browser opened for it to run
- Other extensions can interrupt their work
- There is a chance to lose the data due to the cache being cleared
- Your company might prevent you from installing Chrome Extension
3. Desktop-Based LinkedIn Scraping
Desktop-based scraping runs directly from your desktop. It usually involves installing an app on your computer.
Pros
- Uses your IP address
- Can manage multiple accounts at the same time
Cons
- Doesnโt work if your PC is turned off
- It is likely to be forbidden by your company as it can potentially access all your computer
- Consumes a lot of desktop resources, and youโd need to reduce your Mac memory usage
It’s important to know that no one solution is safer than another.
So, when choosing a tool, ensure it stays within LinkedIn’s recommended limits to keep your account from being restricted.
Can I Use LinkedIn API to Scrape Data?
Yes, you can use LinkedIn API to scrape data. But first, you need to have LinkedIn permission to do so.
LinkedIn provides several APIs, such as the LinkedIn Marketing Developer Program and the LinkedIn Partner Program, for specific purposes.
In 2015, LinkedIn closed public access to its API, recognizing the immense value of the platform.
Now, to access LinkedIn’s official API, you must become a LinkedIn Partner.
This partnership provides access to several valuable APIs, including:
- Profile API: Access basic profile data, pictures, and headlines.
- Connections API: Retrieve a user’s LinkedIn connections.
- Share API: Post text, URLs, and media for authenticated members.
- Invitation API: Send connection invitations.
- Organization API: Access organization and brand data.
- UGC (User Generated Content) API: Create and manage rich content.
- Compliance API: Report content violating LinkedIn’s policies.
7 Best LinkedIn Scraping Tools
For the most legit LinkedIn scraping experience, here are 7 best LinkedIn scraping tools to use for extracting contact data, enriching your CRM, and nailing your outreach campaigns:
- Evaboot
- Phantombuster
- LaGrowthMachine
- Expandi
- GetProspect
- TexAu
- Waalaxy
1. Evaboot
Evaboot is a LinkedIn Sales Navigator scraping tool that allows you to export leads and get emails from Sales Navigator.
It’s a great tool if you’ve built a network on LinkedIn and want to target them.
With Evaboot, you get a ready-for-outreach Excel file in just one click.
| Type | Cloud-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn Sales Navigator |
Main Features
- Export leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Export company profiles
- Export LinkedIn profile URLs
- Clean the data (emojis, capital letters, typos…)
- Detect false positives in your search results
- Find professional emails
- Verify emails
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | You need a Sales Navigator account |
| Export 2500 leads per day | No API yet |
| Built-in email finder and verifier | |
| Identify Open Profiles |
Pricing Tiers
- $9 per month for 100 credits
- $29 per month for 500 credits
- $49 per month for 1500 credits
- $99 per month for 4000 credits
2. Phantombuster
Phantombuster is a generalist scraping platform covering many LinkedIn use cases.
They also extract data from social media like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
| Type | Cloud-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Recruiter |
Main Features
- Export LinkedIn searches
- Scrape LinkedIn profiles
- Send connection requests
- Send messages
- Enrich LinkedIn profiles
- Connect to other social platforms
- Can give data in JSON
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A lot of automation available | Hard to use |
| Connect to other platforms | Risk of getting flagged by LinkedIn |
| Integrated email finder | Pricing is a bit unclear |
Pricing Tiers
- $69/month for 5 phantoms
- $159/month for 15 phantoms
- $439/month for 50 phantoms
3. LaGrowthMachine
LaGrowthMachine is a sales automation tool that helps sales teams, and recruiters benefit from the most advanced growth techniques without technical skills.
The main goal of this tool is to automate the sending of LinkedIn messages and connection requests, but it can also export LinkedIn searches.
| Type | Desktop-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator |
Main Features
- Scrape Linkedin
- LinkedIn messaging automation
- Cold email automation
- Twitter Automation
- Voice message automation
- API
- CRM Sync
- Integrated email enrichment
- Sequence templates
- Shared Inbox
- Webhooks
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| One of the safest LinkedIn automation tool | Don’t run when PC is turned off on Desktop mode |
| Robust, always working | High-end pricing |
| Easily visualize your sequences | |
| Solid API | |
| Synchronize with HubSpot and Pipedrive |
Pricing Tiers
- โฌ60 per month for rigid templates and no email enrichment
- โฌ120 per month unlimited email enrichment and API
- โฌ180 per month for CRM sync and custom workflows
4. Expandi
Expandi is a LinkedIn automation tool designed to help users enhance their outreach efforts. It allows users to send personalized invites, messages, and InMails and also supports email outreach.
The tool has features like image and GIF personalization, smart sequences, and integrations with other tools through Zapier, Integromat, or a custom-made webhook.
Expandi also provides educational resources to help users become more proficient in LinkedIn outreach.
| Type | Cloud-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Recruiter |
Main Features
- LinkedIn Scraping
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator scraping
- LinkedIn Recruiting scraping
- LinkedIn Automation
- InMail Automation
- Personalize images and GIF
Pricing Tiers
One plan of $99 per month per seat.
5. GetProspect
GetProspect is a lead generation tool that offers a Chrome extension to bulk extract emails and profiles from LinkedIn.
A large B2B database of over 200 million contacts enables users to quickly collect a substantial base of business email addresses, freeing up time for crafting compelling outreach content.
| Type | Cloud-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator |
Main Features
- LinkedIn scraping
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Scraping
- Email Finder
- Email Verifier
- Google Sheet Integration
Pricing Tiers
- 1,000 emails /month: $49
- 5,000 emails /month: $99
- 20,000 emails /month: $199
- 50,000 emails /month: $399
6. TexAu
TexAu lets you connect automation, build powerful workflows, grab data, or generate leads in minutes.
Like Phantombuster, they are a generalist scraping platform, but they offer many LinkedIn automation and scraping features.
| Type | Cloud-Based |
| Works on | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator |
Main Features
- Export search and lists
- Export group members
- Export event attendees
- Export posts commenters and likers
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A lot of automation available | Long to set up |
| Integrations with many email finders | Hard to use |
| It can be used on desktop or cloud | Pricing by hour |
| Possibility to add proxies |
Pricing Tiers
- Starter: $29 /month
- Growth: $79 /month
- Agency: $199 /month
7. Waalaxy
Waalaxy (ex-Prospectin) is another French multichannel outreach tool. It started as a LinkedIn messaging automation tool and added LinkedIn cold emailing to its sequences.
| Tool Type | Multichannel outreach tool |
| Automation Type | Cloud-Based |
Main Features
- Scrape Linkedin
- Send connection request
- Send LinkedIn messages
- Send emails
- Integrate email finder
- Shared Inbox
- Manage multiple accounts
- CRM sync
- Integrates with Recruiter and Sales Navigator
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Generous free trial | No custom sequence. Only Templates. |
| Inbox management system | Risk of getting flagged by LinkedIn |
| Integrated email finder | |
| CRM sync | |
| Bypass LinkedIn connection request limitation |
Pricing Tiers
- $112/month for Linkedin automation
- $160/month for Linkedin + Email automation
Don’t hesitate to test each tool and see which works best for your needs.
Conclusion
Does LinkedIn allow scraping?
Well, the answer is not a definite no. You can scrape LinkedIn data, but LinkedIn imposes several limits.
Be careful when scraping data. Follow best practices: scrape only publicly available information, avoid overloading sites with automated requests, adhere to LinkedIn’s terms of service, and only scrape data from unrestricted areas.
Use compliant B2B lead generation tools that provide valuable data without risking legal issues or damaging your professional reputation.
FAQ
Is LinkedIn Scraping legit?
Scraping publicly available data from LinkedIn is legal under a court ruling.
However, LinkedIn’s policies prohibit scraping. If it detects excessive usage of scraping tools, your account may result in LinkedIn jail.
Therefore, while scraping LinkedIn may be legal, it can have significant consequences on the platform.
Can you scrape LinkedIn connections?
LinkedIn allows you to export your connections in an Excel file. However, this doesn’t include data like emails or phone numbers.
You can use scraping tools like Evaboot to create ready-to-use outreach lead lists.
What is the limit of LinkedIn web scraping?
LinkedIn searches include up to 100 result pages, with 10 profile results on each page. So, with a regular LinkedIn account, you can scrape 1000 results for extensive searches.
Meanwhile, on LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you get 25 results per page and 100 result pages, allowing you to scrape up to 2500 results.
Can LinkedIn Ban You for Scraping?
Yes, LinkedIn can ban you for scraping.
Although the court’s decision states that scraping publicly available data is legal, LinkedIn’s policies prohibit it. Your account may be suspended if LinkedIn detects unauthorized access or excessive scraping activity.
How do scraping tools scrape LinkedIn data?
To extract LinkedIn data, web scrapers require a list of target LinkedIn profile URLs or search queries, such as job titles, to begin.
The scraping algorithm sends HTTP requests to these URLs, crawling web pages to fetch the HTML content for processing. Next, the scraper analyses the HTML to identify relevant data points.
After crawlers find the necessary elements, the scraper extracts the data. It then cleanses and structures the data to remove irrelevant information. Finally, the scraped data is saved in Excel, JSON, or CSV formats.
Disclosure
This content was partly written by AI (ChatGPT 4), I added my own perspective, fact-checked it and made sure it is helpful for you.
