LinkedIn Cracks Down: What Sales Professionals Need to Know About Data Scraping · AI for LinkedIn

LinkedIn Cracks Down: What Sales Professionals Need to Know About Data Scraping

Hey there, my amazing evyAI skool community! Joe Apfelbaum here with some MAJOR news that's shaking up the sales intelligence world RIGHT NOW!

Let me tell you something incredible that just happened.

LinkedIn has taken a MASSIVE stand against data scraping by removing the LinkedIn pages of Seamless.AI and Apollo.io!

This is HUGE, folks!

What Just Happened? The 411 on LinkedIn's Latest Move

Earlier today, the LinkedIn community was BUZZING when people noticed that the official pages for Seamless.AI and Apollo.io had vanished! POOF! Gone without warning!

According to insider conversations and posts from sales pros like Clark Barron and Benyamin Holley, LinkedIn allegedly removed these pages because they suspected violations of their strict policies on data scraping and automation.

If you're not familiar with these companies, they offer lead generation tools with Chrome extensions designed to help sales professionals automate outreach. While these tools make prospecting EASIER, they may cross LinkedIn's boundaries on data extraction.

Why LinkedIn Is Saying "NO MORE!" to Data Scraping

Listen up, because this is CRITICAL for your sales success! LinkedIn has ALWAYS been serious about protecting user data, but now they're taking enforcement to a whole new level!

LinkedIn's official policy PROHIBITS:

Scraping user profiles or any platform data
Automating activities like sending messages or adding contacts
Modifying LinkedIn's interface
Creating fake engagement (like artificial likes or comments)
Bypassing LinkedIn's security measures

Their Trust & Safety Team has made it crystal clear: "Any member who uses tools for such purposes is in violation of the User Agreement. This means that they risk having their accounts restricted or shut down."

LinkedIn's AI Is Watching You! (And It's SMARTER Than You Think)

Here's something MIND-BLOWING! LinkedIn isn't just manually catching violators. They've developed POWERFUL AI systems that automatically detect suspicious behavior patterns!

Their deep learning models analyze:

How frequently you request data (to catch scraping)
Your interaction patterns (to identify bot-like behavior)
Unusual API activity (to spot unauthorized automation)

This means LinkedIn can proactively identify and restrict tools that violate policies BEFORE they become widespread. How AMAZING is that technology?!

LinkedIn's Legal Battles Show They Mean BUSINESS!

LinkedIn isn't just making empty threats. They have a STRONG track record of legal action:

In the landmark hiQ Labs case, LinkedIn sued for scraping publicly available profiles. And in 2022, they successfully shut down Singapore-based Mantheos, which was scraping member data. As part of the settlement, Mantheos had to permanently delete ALL scraped data and destroy their software!

What This Means for YOU and Your Sales Strategy

This is a WAKE-UP CALL for all sales professionals! If you're using tools that might violate LinkedIn's policies, you need to REEVALUATE your strategy RIGHT NOW!

Here are the big questions we're all asking:

Will LinkedIn target other lead generation platforms next?
Are tools like Lusha, ZoomInfo, and Cognism at risk?
How can you adapt your sales strategy to stay compliant?

My POWERFUL Advice for the evyAI Skool Community

As someone who's dedicated to helping sales professionals THRIVE, here's my advice:

AUDIT your current sales tools and make sure they comply with LinkedIn's policies
FOCUS on building AUTHENTIC relationships instead of relying on automation
DEVELOP your personal brand so prospects come to YOU
INVEST in ethical data practices that respect privacy
LEARN how to sell effectively without cutting corners

Remember what I always say: "Success in sales comes from CONNECTIONS, not COLLECTIONS of data!"

This shift isn't just a challenge—it's an OPPORTUNITY to stand out by being ethical and authentic in your approach!

Stay INCREDIBLE, stay COMPLIANT, and keep CRUSHING your sales goals!

With boundless energy and passion,

Joe Apfelbaum CEO, evyAI.com

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available discussions on LinkedIn and Reddit. We don't have official confirmation on the exact reasons behind the removal of these pages and will update as more information becomes available. evyAI is not affiliated with LinkedIn

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