LinkedIn® is testing a new way to separate the people you deliberately chose to connect with from the wider stream of recommended content.
The test introduces a Network tab alongside a For You view at the top of the feed. LinkedIn Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan described Network as a place to stay connected to people you have explicitly connected with or followed.
It is important to be precise about the status of the feature: this is a test, not a platform-wide rollout. Some members may see it while others will not, and LinkedIn may change or abandon the design.
What is LinkedIn testing?
LinkedIn’s main feed increasingly combines updates from connections with recommended posts, suggested conversations and content from people outside a member’s immediate network.
The Network test creates a clearer distinction. Network is centred on people a member has consciously chosen to connect with or follow. For You remains the discovery-oriented side of the experience, designed to surface relevant information and practitioners from both inside and outside the network.
That distinction matters because the two feeds serve different purposes: one is principally about relationships; the other is principally about discovery.
Why this could matter for LinkedIn strategy
A professional network has always been more than a follower count. Its value comes from the people in it and whether those relationships remain visible and useful over time.
If LinkedIn develops the Network feed beyond this test, deliberately building the right network could become more consequential. Connecting with relevant customers, peers, colleagues, specialists and industry contacts would not simply increase the size of an audience. It could influence the pool of people whose activity a member can choose to see directly.
That reinforces a principle I already use when thinking about LinkedIn: network building and content publishing are not separate activities. Content can create a reason for a relationship to begin, while the network gives those relationships somewhere to continue.
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It does not mean the algorithm is disappearing
The test should not be interpreted as LinkedIn returning to a purely chronological feed or abandoning recommendations.
In fact, the proposed split makes LinkedIn’s two jobs more explicit. The platform wants to help members maintain relationships with people they already know while also introducing them to useful ideas and practitioners they do not.
For businesses and individuals, that means discovery still matters. Strong content can travel beyond an existing network. But an existing relationship may gain a clearer route back into view.
What about LinkedIn® Company Pages?
The immediate announcement is framed around people members have connected with or followed, so I would not assume that the test gives Company Page content any new distribution advantage.
For Company Pages, the more useful lesson is indirect. A company’s LinkedIn presence works within a wider network of employees, customers, executives and specialists. The Page is one part of that reputation infrastructure, not an isolated publishing channel.
That is one reason Leaders Social focuses on LinkedIn® Company Pages as part of a broader professional presence rather than treating them as conventional social media accounts.
What should you change now?
Nothing simply because this test exists.
I would not redesign a LinkedIn strategy around an experimental interface. The sensible response is to watch what LinkedIn learns from the test while continuing to build a relevant network, publish useful material and maintain genuine professional relationships.
If Network becomes a permanent part of LinkedIn, those fundamentals become more valuable rather than less.
Sources
- Social Media Today: LinkedIn tests Network tab to encourage engagement among connections — 20 September 2026.
Leaders Social will update this article if LinkedIn confirms a wider rollout or materially changes the feature.
