Guide
What's actually in your LinkedIn export?
Every LinkedIn member can download a copy of their data: Settings & Privacy, Data privacy, "Get a copy of your data". Almost nobody does, because almost nobody knows what's inside. Here is the full inventory, file by file, and what each one can tell you.
Two versions exist: the fast export (pick "Connections" only; usually ready in minutes) and the full archive (everything below; up to 24 hours). Both are free.
Connections.csv
in the fast exportEvery connection: name, company, title, profile URL, email (when they've shared it), and the date you connected.
What it reveals: The shape of your entire network. Who's senior, who's retired, who's a duplicate, which companies you have warm coverage at, and which era of your career each connection comes from.
messages.csv
Your full message history: every conversation, who said what, and when.
What it reveals: The single most underrated file. Who you've never messaged (including ideal customers), which valuable relationships have gone quiet, and every person who ever told you 'not right now' and then never heard from you again.
Invitations.csv
Every connection invite you've sent and received, with direction and dates.
What it reveals: Sent invites that were never accepted (LinkedIn caps your pending invites, so stale ones cost you) and received invites still sitting ignored, some of which are ideal customers waiting in your inbox.
Reactions.csv
Every post you've reacted to, with dates and links.
What it reveals: Who you actually pay attention to. Cross-referenced with your messages, it surfaces people you engage with constantly but have never spoken to: a warm list pretending to be a cold one.
Comments.csv
Every comment you've left, with dates, links, and the text.
What it reveals: Your deepest engagement. A comment is ten times the signal of a like, and the same cross-reference applies.
Profile.csv / Positions.csv / Education.csv
Your own profile, work history, and education as structured data.
What it reveals: Mostly useful as a personal backup, and for checking what LinkedIn actually stores about you.
Registration.csv / Rich Media / everything else
Account metadata, uploaded media, ad targeting categories, inferences.
What it reveals: Worth a look once. The ad-targeting file in particular shows how LinkedIn categorizes you for advertisers.
One honest caveat
The export contains no activity or login data about your connections, so no tool can honestly tell you who's "inactive on LinkedIn" from it. The closest real signal is comparing two exports taken months apart.
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