LinkedIn account restricted: what to do
If LinkedIn restricts your account, stop all activity on it, follow the steps LinkedIn shows when you sign in, and contact LinkedIn only through its own help pages. Restrictions usually follow activity that looked automated or unwelcome, such as lots of connection requests nobody accepted. This guide explains the kinds of limit LinkedIn applies, what Spaces does when it happens, how to work out the cause and how to use the account again carefully once it is restored.
The kinds of limit LinkedIn applies
LinkedIn uses several different limits, and they are easy to mix up. Knowing which one you have tells you how worried to be.
| What you see | Probably | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A message that you have reached a limit for invitations this week | A weekly invitation limit | You can send more requests once the week has passed. The account is otherwise fine. |
| A request to sign in again or enter a code | A security check | Complete it, then reconnect the account in Spaces. |
| A request to confirm your identity | A verification check | LinkedIn wants to be sure the account belongs to a real person before it carries on. |
| A message that the account is temporarily restricted | A temporary restriction | You cannot use the account until LinkedIn restores it. |
| A message that the account is permanently restricted | A permanent restriction | Only LinkedIn can change this. |
A weekly invitation limit is a nudge. A restriction is LinkedIn deciding the account needs a closer look. Treat them very differently.
Why LinkedIn restricts accounts
LinkedIn's User Agreement restricts bots and unauthorised automation, as the box at the top explains. In practice the patterns that lead to restrictions are activity in regular bursts, far more actions than a person would take, lots of connection requests that nobody accepts, the same message sent to many people, and people marking requests or messages as unwanted.
This is published provider guidance, written in our own words and last updated on 28 Aug 2026. It is advice, not a promise from the platform, and the platform can change what it watches for at any time.
- Space every action out at random, during working hours, instead of in regular bursts.
- Connection requests: around 80 to 100 a day and about 200 a week on an active paid account. Free accounts get far fewer, especially with a note.
- Profile views: about 100 a day. Other actions such as messages to connections, comments and reactions: about 100 a day each.
- Free accounts: about 150 connection requests a week without a note, and only about 5 notes a month. Notes are up to 200 characters on free accounts and 300 on paid ones.
- InMail to open profiles: 30 to 50 a day at most, and some still need InMail credits.
- Searches: about 1,000 results a day on a normal account and 2,500 on Sales Navigator or Recruiter.
- Start new accounts, and accounts with fewer than about 150 connections, low. Use only real accounts.
Accounts that are new, small or free are given less room. If yours is any of those, it will reach LinkedIn's lines sooner than the figures above suggest.
What to do first
- Stop all activity on the account: your agent, any sequences, scheduled messages and routines. Pausing all sending in your Spaces dashboard does this in one step.
- Stop any other tool or browser extension that acts on the account. Spaces only controls what goes through Spaces.
- Sign in to LinkedIn directly, in its app or on its website, and read exactly what it shows you.
- Follow LinkedIn's steps there. If it asks you to confirm your identity, do it only on LinkedIn's own pages.
- If you need to contact LinkedIn, use its Help Center. Be factual about how you use the account.
- Tell anyone else who uses the account, so nobody keeps trying to sign in or send.
Confirming your identity safely
LinkedIn sometimes asks for proof of identity before it restores an account. Only ever do this on LinkedIn's own website or app, reached by typing the address yourself or opening the app. Never send identity documents in reply to an email or message, however official it looks, and never to someone offering to help unlock your account.
Spaces never asks for identity documents, and nobody from Spaces will ask you to confirm your LinkedIn identity on their behalf.
What Spaces does
When LinkedIn signs the account out, asks for a check or restricts it, Spaces stops sending from it. Anything from an account the platform has restricted, until it is reconnected. Your agent is told the account needs attention:
| What your agent is told | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ACCOUNT_NOT_CONNECTED | The platform signed the account out, or asked for a security check. | Open your dashboard and reconnect the account. Sending stays paused until you do. |
If you use webhooks, Spaces sends an event when the account is disconnected, with the reason, and another when it works again. Spaces cannot lift a LinkedIn restriction or contact LinkedIn for you. Any restriction on your account is yours to manage.
Working out the cause
| Ask yourself | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| How many connection requests went out in the last week, and how many were accepted? | Lots of ignored requests is one of the clearest signs of unwanted outreach. |
| Did we send the same note or message to many people? | Copy-paste messages look automated, whoever sends them. |
| Was any other tool or extension acting on the account? | Two tools on one account can add up to far more than either shows. |
| Did activity happen at the same time every day, in bursts? | Guidance says to space actions out at random during working hours. |
| Is the account new, free or under about 150 connections? | These accounts get less room and should stay well below the figures. |
| Did we view a large number of profiles or run many searches? | Heavy viewing and searching looks like scraping, even when it is not. |
Once the account is restored
If LinkedIn restores the account, reconnect it from your Spaces dashboard and start slowly. The limits Spaces enforces stay the same, and they are a ceiling, not a target:
| Action | Spaces limit per account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 100 a day, at least 20 seconds apart |
| New conversations | 8 an hour, 30 a day |
| Connection requests | 15 a day and 100 a week on a free account, 25 a day and 150 a week on Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter, 4 an hour (5 on a paid account) and at least 90 seconds apart (5 a day in week 1, 10 in week 2, 15 in weeks 3 and 4) |
| Notes on connection requests | up to 200 characters and one a week on a free account, up to 300 characters on a paid one |
| InMail | 5 a day on a free account, 20 on Premium and 25 on Sales Navigator or Recruiter, at least a minute apart |
| Profile views | 80 a day, 150 on Sales Navigator and 200 on Recruiter |
| Searches | 30 a day, 40 on Sales Navigator and Recruiter, at least 15 seconds apart |
| Comments | 30 a day |
| Reactions | 50 a day |
| Posts | 3 a day |
| Endorsements | 10 a day |
| Follows, accepted invitations and withdrawals | 40 a day |
| Old invitations | withdrawn for you after a number of days you choose, only if you turn it on |
| Restrictions | if LinkedIn restricts the account or asks for a security check, Spaces pauses everything your agent sends from it for three days and tells you |
- Use the first week for replies to people who message you, and for accepting requests from people you know.
- Withdraw old connection requests that were never accepted. A long list of pending requests to strangers does the account no favours.
- When you send requests again, keep them to people you have met or who have a clear reason to accept, a few a day.
- Write each note and message for that person. Never use one template for everyone.
- Use the account by hand as well: comment on a few posts from people you know, as a real member would.
If the restriction is permanent
A permanent restriction is LinkedIn's decision. Opening a new account to carry on the same activity goes against LinkedIn's rules, which allow one account per person, and it usually ends the same way. Spaces' Terms also rule out using another account to get round a limit or a restriction.
If LinkedIn was an important channel, think about what actually brought you business there. It is usually conversations with people who already knew you, which can often carry on through email and your other channels while you sort things out.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Signing in again and again from different places. Repeated sign-ins from new devices are a pattern LinkedIn watches.
- Sending identity documents to anyone except LinkedIn on its own site.
- Switching to InMail to reach people who ignored your requests.
- Opening a second account to carry on outreach.
- Going straight back to full activity the day the account is restored.
Notes to give your AI agent
LinkedIn after a restriction:
- For two weeks, only reply to people who message me. No new conversations or requests.
- After that, only send requests to people I name, with a short personal note.
- Never send the same message to more than one person.
- Space actions out during working hours.
- If Spaces says the account needs attention, tell me and stop.
- If LinkedIn turns down a request, do not try again. Tell me.Who you message
Summing up
A LinkedIn restriction means LinkedIn wants a closer look at the account. Stop everything, follow LinkedIn's own steps, confirm your identity only on LinkedIn's pages, and work out what led to it. If the account comes back, start with replies, clear out ignored requests and keep any outreach small and personal. Spaces pauses the account for you and keeps it inside its limits, but it lowers the risk rather than removing it.
Pricing
FAQ
Can Spaces lift a LinkedIn restriction?
No. Only LinkedIn can restore an account, through its own steps and Help Center. Spaces pauses sending and tells your agent, and any restriction is yours to manage.
Is the weekly invitation limit the same as a restriction?
No. Reaching the weekly invitation limit only stops new requests for a while. A restriction stops you using the account until LinkedIn restores it.
Why does LinkedIn want my ID?
LinkedIn sometimes asks members to confirm their identity before restoring an account. Only do this on LinkedIn's own site or app, never in reply to an email or message.
Does Spaces keep sending while my account is restricted?
No. Anything from an account the platform has restricted, until it is reconnected.
How many connection requests are safe after a restriction?
Fewer than before. Spaces allows at most 15 a day and 100 a week on a free account, 25 a day and 150 a week on Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter, 4 an hour (5 on a paid account) and at least 90 seconds apart (5 a day in week 1, 10 in week 2, 15 in weeks 3 and 4), but after a restriction keep to a few a day for people who know you.
Should I withdraw old connection requests?
It is good practice. Pending requests to people who never accepted say little good about the account. Withdraw the old ones and send new requests only to people with a reason to accept.
Can I open a new LinkedIn account instead?
Not to carry on the same activity. LinkedIn allows one account per person, and Spaces' Terms rule out using another account to get round a restriction.
Will my agent tell me if LinkedIn signs me out?
Spaces tells your agent as soon as it tries to send, and the account shows as needing attention in your dashboard. Ask your agent in its notes to tell you straight away.