What Are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-Degree Connections on LinkedIn?
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Key Takeaways
- 1st-degree connections are people you are directly connected to on LinkedIn, and you can message them for free.
- 2nd-degree connections share at least one mutual 1st-degree connection; you can send them a connection request or, with Premium, an InMail.
- 3rd-degree connections are connected to your 2nd-degree connections and sit at the edge of your visible network.
- LinkedIn shows the degree as a small badge (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) next to a member's name.
- Anyone beyond the 3rd degree is labeled Out of Network and is usually reachable only through shared groups, an Open Profile, or InMail.
How Connection Degrees Work
LinkedIn organizes your professional network as a chain of relationships that spread outward from your profile. Every other member sits at a measurable distance from you, and LinkedIn marks that distance as a "degree" — 1st, 2nd, or 3rd — shown as a small badge next to the person's name.[1]LinkedIn Help. "Your Network and Degrees of Connection." View source The badge is not decoration: it decides what you can do next, from sending a free message to needing a connection request or a paid InMail.
Picture a map with you at the center. The people you have directly connected with are your 1st-degree. The people they are connected to — whom you have not met — are your 2nd-degree. The people your 2nd-degree connections know are your 3rd-degree. Everyone past that boundary is labeled "Out of Network."[1]LinkedIn Help. "Your Network and Degrees of Connection." View source This is the same friend-of-a-friend logic that decides who appears in your search results and who LinkedIn suggests you connect with.
Degrees are dynamic. The moment someone accepts your invitation, they jump from 2nd- to 1st-degree, and their entire network shifts one step closer to you. This is why growing your 1st-degree circle deliberately widens the 2nd- and 3rd-degree pool you can reach — the foundation of most networking and social selling on the platform.
The Three Degrees of Connection
1st-degree
People you are directly connected to because one of you sent an invitation and the other accepted. A "1st" badge appears beside their name. You can message them for free, see their full profile, and view any contact details they have shared.[1]LinkedIn Help. "Your Network and Degrees of Connection." View source Your 1st-degree count is the number most people mean when they say "connections," and it is different from your follower count, which does not require mutual acceptance.
2nd-degree
People connected to at least one of your 1st-degree connections, marked with a "2nd" badge. You are not connected yet, but you share common ground. You can send them a connection request, and with LinkedIn Premium you can reach them by InMail.[1]LinkedIn Help. "Your Network and Degrees of Connection." View source Most useful networking happens here, because a shared connection gives you context and a warm reason to reach out.
3rd-degree
People connected to your 2nd-degree connections, shown with a "3rd" badge. They sit at the edge of your visible network. Depending on their privacy settings you may see only their first name and last initial, and you can usually still send a connection request.[1]LinkedIn Help. "Your Network and Degrees of Connection." View source Past the 3rd degree, members appear as "Out of Network" and are typically only reachable through a shared group, an Open Profile, or InMail.
Why Your Connection Degree Matters
The degree label quietly governs three things: how you can contact someone, how much of their profile you can see, and how they find you. It also interacts with LinkedIn's weekly invitation limit, since sending requests to 2nd- and 3rd-degree members is how most people grow. Recruiters and sellers lean on degrees too — tools like Sales Navigator let you filter prospects by connection degree so you can prioritize warm paths over cold ones. Even your profile views are shaped by degrees, because 2nd-degree viewers are the people a mutual connection can introduce you to.
Example of Connection Degrees
Say you are connected to Maria, so Maria is a 1st-degree connection. Maria is connected to David, whom you have never met — that makes David a 2nd-degree connection, and LinkedIn shows "Maria is a shared connection" on his profile. David is connected to Priya, so Priya is your 3rd-degree connection. If you send David a request that mentions Maria, you are working your 2nd-degree layer with a warm intro. When David accepts, he becomes 1st-degree, Priya jumps to 2nd-degree, and everyone Priya knows becomes part of your new 3rd-degree layer. A single accepted invitation can add hundreds of newly reachable people to your network — which is why even a quiet lurker benefits from accepting relevant requests.
The Bottom Line
Connection degrees are LinkedIn's shorthand for how many handshakes separate you from another member. First-degree means you are directly connected; second-degree means you share a mutual connection; third-degree means you are two mutual connections apart. The label controls how you can contact someone and how much of their profile you can see, so expanding your 1st-degree network quietly expands everything else you can reach. Read that way, the little badge stops being trivia and becomes a map of who is actually within arm's reach.
What people get wrong about connection degrees
Most people treat a 1st-degree connection as a relationship. It isn't. It's a permission setting — the right to land in someone's inbox for free. Collecting thousands of 1st-degree connections you will never speak to doesn't build a network; it inflates a number while diluting your feed with people whose posts you don't care about. The real value of degrees is directional: your 1st-degree circle is only useful insofar as it opens warm doors to the specific 2nd-degree people you actually want to meet. Curate the first ring for the second, not for the count.
| Connection Degrees (1st/2nd/3rd) | Follower | |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship | Mutual — both parties accepted | One-way — no acceptance needed |
| Messaging | 1st-degree can message each other free | Following alone grants no messaging |
| How it forms | A connection request is accepted | Someone taps Follow on your profile or post |
| Content visibility | You see each other's posts and can interact | Follower sees your public posts; you may not see theirs |
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can 2nd-degree connections see my posts?
- Yes, if your posts are set to public or if a mutual 1st-degree connection interacts with them. Public posts can surface to 2nd- and 3rd-degree members through the feed and search, which is how reach spreads beyond your direct connections.
- What does Out of Network mean on LinkedIn?
- Out of Network means a member is more than three degrees away from you, with no chain of mutual connections LinkedIn can trace. You usually can't send a normal connection request and may need a shared group, an Open Profile, or InMail to reach them.
- Can I message a 2nd-degree connection without connecting?
- Not for free. To message a 2nd-degree connection directly you either send a connection request first, or use a paid InMail if you have LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator. Free accounts must connect before the conversation opens.
- Do 3rd-degree connections count as part of my network?
- Yes. LinkedIn counts 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree members as your network, which is why search and suggestions include them. Only members beyond the 3rd degree are treated as Out of Network.
Article Sources
ContentIn requires writers to use primary sources — official LinkedIn documentation, engineering publications, and original platform data. Learn more in our editorial standards.