LinkedIn Messages (and InMail) is the professional networking platform's messaging system, designed for business communication, networking, recruiting, and professional relationship building.
LinkedIn Messages support available through Professional tier. Upload your LinkedIn data export CSV and we'll convert your professional messages to properly formatted PDF documents.
LinkedIn offers data export through Privacy settings, but messages are exported in CSV format which is difficult to read as conversations. Takes 24 hours to prepare.
Log in to LinkedIn → Settings & Privacy → Data privacy → Get a copy of your data → Request archive
Choose 'Messages' from the list. You can select other data types or just messages. Select 'Fast' for quicker processing.
LinkedIn will process your request. Typically takes 24 hours but can take up to 72 hours for large accounts.
LinkedIn will email you when ready. Download the ZIP file from the link provided (valid for limited time).
Extract ZIP and locate 'messages.csv'. This contains all your message history in spreadsheet format.
Upload the LinkedIn messages CSV to ChatToPDF for conversion to professional, readable conversation format.
Request data export (24-72 hour wait), download ZIP, extract messages.csv, manually reconstruct conversations from spreadsheet data. Extremely tedious without proper tools.
ChatToPDF transforms LinkedIn's CSV export into professionally formatted PDF conversations, reconstructing message threads and presenting them in readable format suitable for business documentation.
Shows exact LinkedIn interface, includes all visual context
Extremely time-consuming, not searchable, impractical for networking archives
Official LinkedIn export, complete data
Unreadable as conversations, no threading, spreadsheet format inappropriate for messages
Quick for individual threads
One conversation at a time, poor formatting, not scalable
LinkedIn's CSV (Comma-Separated Values) export format is designed for data portability and compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR, not for user-friendly reading. CSV is a universal format that can be opened by any spreadsheet program, making it technically compliant with data export requirements. However, it's a terrible format for reading conversations because each message is a separate row without conversation threading or visual context. LinkedIn likely chose this format to: (1) Meet regulatory requirements for data portability, (2) Avoid building a better export system (reduces development costs), (3) Focus resources on features that drive engagement rather than data export. For users needing readable message archives, this format requires post-processing tools like ChatToPDF to reconstruct conversations into readable documents.
Upload your LinkedIn Messages export and get a professional PDF in minutes
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