LinkedIn is testing a new “Network” tab that would show users a feed made up entirely of people they have directly connected with or followed, an alternative to the platform’s main algorithmic feed, per Social Media Today.

Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, announced the trial in a LinkedIn post on September 18. “The Network tab helps you stay connected to your network, ie the people you have explicitly connected or followed. We all want more real connection with real people, and we hope this plays a small part in rebuilding that world,” Srinivasan wrote. He described a companion “For You” tab as designed to help users “stay informed,” pulling in perspectives from “real practitioners inside and outside your network.”

Source: Hari Srinivasan

The test follows LinkedIn’s recent efforts to address engagement pods, coordinated groups that artificially inflate post statistics, and AI-generated content that users have flagged as cluttering feeds. The platform added an option earlier this year for users to report AI-generated posts.

A Pattern of Alternative Feed Tests

This is not LinkedIn’s first attempt at restructuring how the feed surfaces content, according to Social Media Today. Last year, the platform tested several alternative feed formats aimed at expanding app usage, and in June, it trialed topic-based suggested feeds meant to connect users with trending conversations. Neither test has been expanded into a full launch.

The engagement problem the Network tab is aimed at is measurable. A Metricool study of more than 670,000 LinkedIn posts found that public engagement signals on the platform have been declining even as overall activity holds up. According to Metricool’s data, “Company Page” likes fell 13% year over year, comments dropped 17%, and shares slid 11%, while clicks per post rose 5%, a pattern the firm attributed to a rise in “invisible interactions” that don’t appear publicly on a post. Metricool’s data also found that “Personal Profiles” generated a 63% higher engagement rate than “Company Pages” in 2026, with 237% more comments per post, despite the two account types drawing comparable impressions.

A feed built around direct connections would lean into exactly the kind of activity Metricool’s data shows performing best on LinkedIn already: personal accounts generating more visible interaction than institutional ones. Srinivasan’s post noted “there’s more to come here” beyond the initial test.

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