The two settings
| Green photo frame | Recruiters-only signal | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees it | Everyone, including your employer | Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter |
| Appearance | #OpenToWork ring on your photo | Invisible on your profile |
| Best for | Openly looking, or already left | Searching while employed |
| Turned off by | Editing the photo frame | Editing the Open to Work box |
Removing the green photo frame
- Go to your own profile.
- Click your profile photo.
- Choose Frames.
- Select Original — the frame with no badge.
- Apply and save.
The ring disappears immediately. Note this only removes the visual — if you also enabled the recruiters-only signal, it is still running.
Turning off the recruiters-only signal
- Go to your own profile.
- Find the Open to Work box below your headline — visible only to you when set to recruiters-only.
- Click the pencil to edit it.
- Scroll to the bottom of the panel.
- Choose Delete from profile.
Delete removes the whole preference set. If you only want to adjust it — different titles, different locations — edit the fields instead and save.
LinkedIn reorganises its settings regularly, so a named menu path can go stale. The durable route is the search box inside Settings & Privacy — type what you want to change rather than hunting through the menu tree.
Which one should you actually use?
If you are employed and searching quietly, recruiters-only is the right setting. It surfaces you in recruiter searches without announcing anything to your network or your manager.
If you are between roles, the public frame is worth having. It is a clear signal, it costs you nothing when there is no employer to hide it from, and some recruiters do filter on it.
LinkedIn excludes recruiters at your own company on a best-effort basis, and says so. It is not a guarantee. Agency recruiters working for your employer, or anyone at your company with a Recruiter seat under a different organisation, may still see it. Treat recruiters-only as discreet, not confidential.
Still getting recruiter messages after turning it off?
Open to Work is not the only reason recruiters contact you, and turning it off changes less than people expect.
- Recruiters search by skills, title and location regardless of any badge.
- Your profile stays fully searchable — that is what it is for.
- Existing InMail threads keep running.
- Third-party tools cache profile data and go stale slowly.
To reduce the volume properly, look at InMail and messaging settings under Settings & Privacy, and at Communications preferences.
Search on your own terms
Resume-matched roles from the boards you choose, tracked from first send to reply — no public signal required.
See how it works