LinkedIn is adjusting its feed algorithm following backlash from users who were inundated with outdated posts, some several weeks old, as part of a recent test. The professional networking platform confirmed it will now revert aspects of the test and restore a more time-sensitive experience.
The experimental change
The change was first noticed in late June, when users began reporting a surge in older posts reappearing at the top of their feed. According to Bhairavi Jhaveri, B2B Communications Lead at LinkedIn EMEA & LATAM, the shift was part of an experiment aimed at balancing relevance with recency.
“Your Feed may have looked slightly different in the last few weeks… This was part of some testing we were doing to strike the right balance between prioritising relevant content vs recent content in your feed,” Jhaveri wrote on LinkedIn. “The dramatic shift was only temporary and it will go back to feeling far more normal now.”
The test was designed in response to member feedback, with some users saying they missed important updates, such as job changes, if they hadn’t logged in for a few weeks. The algorithm tweak aimed to ensure those posts weren’t buried simply because they weren’t recent.
Gyanda Sachdeva, LinkedIn Vice President of Product Management, told Business Insider the goal was to resurface career milestones and valuable insights that might otherwise be missed. But the company acknowledges that the test had unintended side effects.
“We want to make sure that we strike the right balance,” said Sachdeva. “The goal is not to suddenly make it feel like it’s all from five weeks ago.”
According to Jhaveri, LinkedIn’s broader vision for the feed is to make it “more timely, relevant, connected, and conversational.” The platform says it will continue to fine-tune its algorithms based on user feedback and engagement signals.
LinkedIn currently has over 1 billion users globally, with Australia representing a significant and growing market, especially among marketers and business professionals. Changes to how the feed operates can have ripple effects across content strategies, particularly for agencies and media outlets that rely on timely visibility.
“In the new normal, you should expect to see a little bit of a flex on recency because we want to make sure that posts are relevant to you.” Jhaveri added.
Want your feed back to normal?
If the influx of older posts is still disrupting your experience, LinkedIn users can manually switch to a chronological view. Go to Settings > Account preferences > Preferred feed view and select “most recent posts” to prioritise newer updates over algorithmic suggestions.