LinkedIn Connected Apps: How They Work

Every skill on a LinkedIn profile is a claim you made about yourself. Connected apps are different: you authorize a tool you already use, and that tool writes a line on your profile describing what you actually do in it.

That is the appeal, and it is also the catch. The sentence that appears on your profile is written by the app, not by you, and you cannot edit it.

This guide covers which apps you can connect today, the exact steps to add and remove one, what a visitor sees, and the removal question almost nobody gets right: taking the app off your profile does not cut off its access to your data.

What are LinkedIn connected apps?

Connected apps are a profile section where a third-party tool vouches for how you use it. LinkedIn describes the feature as a way to "showcase trusted, partner-validated proof of your competency."

The distinction from the skills section is the whole point. A skill is self-declared. A connected app produces what LinkedIn calls a capability statement, generated from your real activity in that product. The company's announcement gives HubSpot as the example: instead of listing HubSpot as a skill, your profile might say you create and send segmented email campaigns.

Two other mechanics matter:

• Descriptions update on their own. They are dynamic, so the wording changes as your usage changes.
• Partners can mark you a Top User, which LinkedIn calls "a visible signal that you are among the most engaged users" on that platform.

The feature was announced on June 17, 2026, and LinkedIn said over a million members had already connected an app by then.

Which apps can you connect?

At announcement, these were live. PPC Land's report from the same day lists them in full.

That is 19 live and 10 announced as coming, as of June 2026. LinkedIn's help documentation notes that "apps available in Connected apps may change over time," so treat both lists as a snapshot rather than a fixed roster. The reliable check is the one in the setup steps below, which shows what is available to your account today.

The pattern in that roster is worth noticing. It skews heavily toward AI tools, developer products, and content creation software. If your working day runs on a CRM outside HubSpot, an accounting package, or industry software, there is currently nothing here for you.

How to add a connected app

The steps are the same on desktop and mobile, and they start on your profile rather than in settings.

On desktop:

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
2. Click View profile
3. Scroll to the Connected apps section
4. Click Add connected apps
5. Click Add next to the app you want to connect
6. Sign in to the app using your account credentials

On mobile, tap your profile photo, tap View profile, then follow the same four steps.

The last step is the one to read carefully. You are signing in to the third-party app and authorizing it to read your activity there. This is a real authorization, not a display toggle, which is why the removal section further down matters.

What a visitor actually sees

A new Connected apps section appears on your profile with the app and its generated line about your usage. If a partner has designated you a Top User, that signal shows too.

Set expectations accordingly. This is a short capability statement, not a portfolio and not a case study. It tells a visitor you genuinely use a tool and roughly what for. It does not tell them whether the work was any good.

That is a real limit, and it is why connected apps complement rather than replace the Featured section, where you choose what to show and control exactly how it is framed. One is evidence you did not write; the other is evidence you curated. A strong profile usually wants both.

The part worth pausing on: you do not write the description

This is the single most important thing to understand before connecting anything, and it gets a passing mention in most coverage.

The description is not yours to edit. LinkedIn states the descriptions "cannot be edited" by members. PPC Land puts it more bluntly: "the sentence cannot be edited by the member; the partner application controls the wording entirely."

So a company whose commercial interest is its own visibility writes a sentence about you, on your profile, in front of your network and anyone evaluating you. It updates by itself. Your only controls are connecting and disconnecting.

For most people most of the time, that is fine. It is worth thinking about in three cases:

• If you use the tool lightly. A generated statement based on thin activity may describe you more modestly than you would describe yourself, and you cannot soften it.
• If your positioning is careful. Consultants and executives who have deliberately shaped a personal brand may not want an automated line sitting inside it.
• If the tool signals something about your process. Showing which AI products you use is information about how you work, and some audiences read that positively while others do not.

None of this makes the feature a bad idea. It makes it a decision rather than a free win.

How to remove a connected app

Removal is quick:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile
2. Scroll to the Connected apps section
3. Find the app you want to remove
4. Select Delete or the Trash icon
5. Confirm you want to remove the item

The section disappears from your profile once the last app is removed.

Removing the app does not cut off its data access

Here is the thing that is easy to get wrong, and the reason the authorization step matters.

Deleting a connected app from your profile removes the display. It is not the same action as revoking the app's access to your LinkedIn data. That lives in a different place, called Permitted Services:

1. Click the Me icon, then Settings & Privacy
2. Click Data privacy in the left rail
3. Click Change next to Permitted Services
4. Click Remove next to the service

Two facts from LinkedIn's documentation on third-party applications are worth knowing before you connect anything:

• Third-party applications "will have access to your LinkedIn data for up to 1 year before you will need to re-consent."
• After you disconnect, "the application owner may retain your LinkedIn data received prior to the settings change and is solely responsible for handling it appropriately."

Plainly: disconnecting stops future access, not past collection. If you connect an app, decide against it, and remove it from your profile, check Permitted Services as well. Two screens, two different jobs.

Is it worth doing if you have no portfolio?

This is the strongest case for the feature, and the one where it earns the minute it takes.

If you are early in a field, changing careers, or working on things you cannot show publicly, your profile is mostly assertions. Connected apps give you third-party evidence without needing a portfolio, a public project, or permission from a client to talk about the work.

An entry on your profile saying a video tool confirms you edit and produce content does more than the word "video editing" in your skills list, because a reader knows you did not type it yourself. That is the same logic behind verifying your profile: the value comes from something other than you standing behind the claim.

Keep the ceiling in mind. It proves usage, not quality. A Top User badge is the only part of the system that speaks to depth, and it is awarded by the partner rather than earned through a standard you can check. It is also unrelated to LinkedIn Top Voice, despite the similar name. Treat connected apps as a floor under your credibility, not a substitute for proof of results.

Who should skip it

Being direct, since a how-to that recommends everything to everyone is not much use:

• Anyone whose tools are not on the list. Nineteen apps is a narrow slice of working software. If nothing you use qualifies, there is no workaround, and your effort belongs in the About section or your headline instead.
• Anyone whose credibility rests on outcomes. Nobody hires a lawyer or a CFO because of which software they open. In those fields the section is noise at best.
• Anyone with bigger gaps. An empty About section, no headline positioning, or a profile with no recent activity will cost you far more than a missing app. Work through a profile checklist, and add your resume if that is still missing, before adding anything decorative.
• Anyone uncomfortable with uneditable copy. If you would not let a vendor write one sentence of your bio, do not connect the app. That is what you are agreeing to.
• Anyone who would connect an app they barely use. The description comes from real activity, so a thin connection produces a thin statement. It can undersell you more effectively than saying nothing.

The honest summary

Connected apps are a small, genuine improvement to a profile, in a specific case: you use one of the listed tools regularly, and you lack other public evidence of the work. Connecting one takes under a minute and gives a visitor something you did not write about yourself.

They are not a growth tactic and they will not change who sees your profile. The things that do that are unchanged: a clear headline, an About section that says what you do for whom, and posting regularly enough that people remember you exist. Connected apps make the profile more believable once someone arrives. Getting them to arrive is still the harder half, and building a personal brand is still the work that does it.

FAQ

What are connected apps on LinkedIn?

A profile section where a third-party app you authorize writes a short statement about how you actually use it, generated from your real activity in that product. LinkedIn describes it as "partner-validated proof of your competency," in contrast to the skills section, where you make the claim yourself.

How do I add a connected app to my LinkedIn profile?

Click the Me icon, then View profile, scroll to the Connected apps section, click Add connected apps, click Add beside the app you want, and sign in to that app. The steps are the same on mobile, starting from your profile photo.

Which apps can I connect to LinkedIn?

At the June 2026 announcement the live list was Airtable, Base44, beehiiv, Buffer, Captions, Descript, Duolingo, fiverr, Gamma, HeyGen, HubSpot, JetBrains, Lovable, Magic Patterns, Pictory, Profound, Relay.app, Replit and Wispr Flow. Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Fullcast, GitHub, Gong, OpusClip, Riverside, Sprinklr, Webflow and Zapier were named as coming. LinkedIn says availability changes over time, so check the list in the Add connected apps screen.

Can I edit what a connected app says about me?

No. LinkedIn states the descriptions "cannot be edited" by members, and the partner application controls the wording. Your controls are connecting the app and removing it.

How do I remove a connected app from my LinkedIn profile?

Go to your profile, scroll to Connected apps, find the app, select Delete or the trash icon, and confirm. This removes it from your profile display.

Does removing a connected app stop it accessing my data?

No. Removing it from your profile changes what is displayed. To revoke data access, go to Settings & Privacy, then Data privacy, then Change next to Permitted Services, and click Remove. LinkedIn also notes that an app "may retain your LinkedIn data received prior to the settings change."

Do connected apps cost anything?

LinkedIn does not charge for the profile feature. You need an account with the partner app, and whether that account is free depends on the app.

What is a Top User badge on LinkedIn?

A designation a partner app can give you, which LinkedIn describes as "a visible signal that you are among the most engaged users" on that platform. It is awarded by the partner rather than by LinkedIn, and the criteria are the partner's own.