LinkedIn is a gold mine of valuable data for HR, sales, marketing, and other pros. It allows you to get valuable insights into market trends in real time and get a lot of contacts you may need. However, there is a lot of information, and dealing with it manually isn’t an option. That’s where scraping comes into play to help you save time and resources, yet still get data. This article breaks down LinkedIn scraping – all the do’s and don’ts.

Challenges of LinkedIn scraping 

LinkedIn aims to create a safe environment for its users, and part of its strategy is to protect users’ data by setting strict boundaries on what is allowed. So, it is clearly stated in LinkedIn’s Terms of Service that scraping is prohibited. That’s why DataImpulse does not encourage you to try scraping LinkedIn. Further information in this article is meant for educational purposes only. DataImpulse does not bear any responsibility for any possible outcome. 

Back to scraping. LinkedIn does many things to ensure its users are real humans, not robots. So, scraping the platform comes with a set of challenges, such as:

• Rate limits 
• Anti-bot mechanisms 
• CAPTCHAs 
• Login restrictions 
• Complexity of data structure 
• IP and account bans 
• Legal considerations 

In other words, if LinkedIn thinks there are too many requests coming from the same IP, account, or activity that happens at an unusual time, for example, Christmas, when people are unlikely to do business, it will likely earn you a temporary ban and throw all your scraping efforts to the wind. Add the fact that LinkedIn mechanisms are a secret and they change w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶̶  periodically, so what worked fine yesterday may be fruitless today. With that, you must always be on the lookout, adjust your strategy, or even stop scraping activities altogether until you figure out new rules and decide on a new approach. However, there are a lot of cases of successful scraping, so let’s see what helps.

Tips for gainful LinkedIn scraping 

There are several important rules to stick by.

• LinkedIn scraping is a gray zone, so it’s important to review the platform’s Terms of Service periodically. If there are changes—new restrictions, specifications, or permissions—you should adapt your scraping routine. This will also help you avoid troubles and bans. 
• Compliance with data regulation laws like GDPR or CCPA is a must. You need to be responsible for the data you get, never sell it, or use it for illicit activities.
• Scrape only publicly available data, such as company name, role, or contact info, and don’t try to get private information. 
• Keep an eye on your engagement metrics. Sudden drops may signal that LinkedIn considers your behaviour suspicious and limits your reach. 
• If you receive a warning or a temporary ban, stop scraping activities and abandon automation tools. You can read more about what to do in that case from our blog post. 
• Sometimes, you may hear that it’s better to use different accounts for different scraping purposes. However, having multiple accounts goes against LinkedIn’s ToS. Before considering that idea, you can read our dedicated article to learn more and make a wise decision. 

Best LinkedIn scraping tools 

The most important part of LinkedIn scraping is to make the whole process look as if no bots are involved and real humans are conducting all the actions. Setting time intervals between requests, interactions with different types of content, random pausing for extended periods, and engaging in various actions – you need all that. The main point is to avoid repeating the same predictable pattern of actions, as that looks robotic and gives you away instantly. That’s why choosing the right tool that takes into consideration all the aforementioned details and is optimized to work with LinkedIn is one of the most crucial tasks. There are several options you can think about. 

• Octoparse 

This no-code tool is a worthy option for non-technical specialists, as its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to work with. It has pre-built templates for scraping tasks and leverages cloud-based scraping, so even when your computer is off, scraping processes continue. 

• Scrapy

A Python library by nature, Scrapy calls for strong coding skills or teams of developers. However, you can build a tool for your unique case and customize it as much as you need. It’s also totally free to use and can handle even large-scale projects. 

• SalesQL

If contact information and lead generation are your primary interests, this tool is definitely worth attention. It extracts email addresses and phone numbers, which you can save directly to your CRM. You don’t have to be a coding pro to use it; instead, there is a Chrome extension for your convenience. 

• Apify

The instrument is optimized to work with LinkedIn and offers ready-to-use templates and the option of building a custom script. It is also cloud-based and can be integrated with other tools with the help of an API. This is a good fit for medium- to large businesses that want scalability. 

• LinkedIn Helper 2

The LinkedIn-focused tool is good not only for scraping but also for automating other processes, such as sending invitations. It’s also easy to use, and you can create your own scenarios. However, it’s paid: there is no free plan. There is only a 14-day trial to test the tool. 

Additional instruments for LinkedIn scraping 

To create a human-like impression, you can use other tools. 

• Anti-detect browsers 

Such browsers create separate profiles with unique characteristics like cookies, IP addresses, and user-agent strings. It makes it difficult for LinkedIn to trace back all the activities and associate them with a particular user or device. As browser fingerprinting is one of the main techniques the platform uses to detect bots, anti-detection browsers are your allies. In this dedicated article, you can read more about attention-worthy options. 

• VPN

VPN helps you mask your real geolocation in case you’re trying to scrape data across numerous locations. It also provides an additional security layer, shielding your personal data. Reliable options like ZoogVPN won’t drain your wallet, yet will save you bans and brain cells. 

• Headless browsers 

If you decide to build your own scraper and continue with Scrapy or a similar tool, headless browsers are a must. They save your system’s resources, allowing you to process large volumes of data fast and also helping you avoid detection. There are several decent options—check out this article to choose what will work best for you. 

• Session management tools 

One-time data grab looks suspicious; instruments that allow you to save and resume your sessions also help you appear as a regular user. When your scraping tasks appear as a continuous browser session, it enables you to stay under the radar. 

• Proxies 

Serving as intermediaries between you and the target server, proxies fulfill several tasks at once. They communicate with the server on your behalf, hiding your real IP and location, so it’s harder to trace traffic back to you and link all the scraping activities to your device. They also speed up the process as you can distribute your tasks across multiple connection threads, which is essential for large projects. Residential proxies are a good choice, as they are IPs of real households, associated with real providers. Mobile proxies are also an option – they are even less likely to be detected, but may be a little pricey.

On the other hand, you need to choose them carefully. Free proxies are most likely to be banned, as they are known and platforms prohibit them beforehand. Opt for providers who offer you first-party ethically derived IPs. This way, you won’t overpay, and real unique proxies will drastically increase your chances of scraping LinkedIn successfully. For example, DataImpulse offers you 90+ million legally-obtained IPs from 195 locations, so your scraping goes smoothly. We don’t engage in illegal use cases, so our addresses are clean and not associated with illicit activities. We also offer you features such as geo-targeting and setting rotation intervals, so you can make traffic appear even more natural. If you have more questions, contact our support team at [email protected] – they are available 24/7 and answer in a matter of minutes. Or press the “Try now” button to start with us and eliminate your scraping headache.