LinkedIn brought back important tool after user complaints

By Jillian D'onfro

Earlier this week, LinkedIn changed the way it allowed users to download the contact information for all of their connections.

Previously, users could easily export a spreadsheet file almost instantly, but with the new methodology they had to download all of their LinkedIn data at once, a process that could take up to 72 hours.

When users discovered the change, they were furious.

Some members accused LinkedIn of making itself too much of a "walled garden."

But, after seeing the overwhelming response, LinkedIn announced this weekend that it had brought the easy-download feature back.

"We've heard you loud and clear - [up to 72 hours] is too long to have to wait for a download of connection information," product management VP Michael Korcuska writes in the blog post. "Effective immediately, we have turned the CSV download link back on."

Once again you can export all of your contacts into an Excel file with their name, job title, and email with a few simple clicks.

LinkedIn plans to refine the download process to mitigate third-party scraping - when people or companies use the bulk data for unintended purposes - with the ultimate goal of letting users get all of their data within minutes.

"We will keep the CSV connections tool available until we can reach that goal (some other data items will be available in an extended archive that may take longer to process)," Korcuska continues. "We will then turn this tool off again, as part of our ongoing anti-scraping efforts.

Want to download your contacts?

Go to the main Connections tab, press the gear symbol in the right-hand corner, and then click "Export LinkedIn Connections" under "Advanced Settings."