LinkedIn Expands Identity Verification in APAC

Every day, my team and I are inspired by the stories of growth, learning, and opportunities that unfold on LinkedIn. Over 1 billion members - including more than 250 million in Asia Pacific (APAC) - use LinkedIn to connect, share knowledge, and seek career advancement.?

Authenticity is the bedrock of meaningful interactions on LinkedIn – this is why we are constantly investing in ways to keep inauthentic behavior off our platform with a combination of technology and human intervention. Today, I am excited to share that we are introducing identity verification to Singapore, to help our members here make more informed decisions about connecting with businesses and other professionals on LinkedIn. Other APAC markets that identity verification is now available in include Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.?

Over the past year, LinkedIn has been rolling out a range of verifications , which allow our members to verify certain information to be displayed on their profile, like their identity, association with a particular company or educational institution. More than 30 million LinkedIn members worldwide now display a verification badge on their profiles, helping share another signal of authenticity and building trust on our platform. Our vision is for every member of the? workforce to verify at least one attribute of their professional identity, with a goal of reaching 100 million verified members by 2025 . With that goal in mind, our verification feature is free to our members.

What is Identity Verification?

Having an identity verification means that the individual’s government-issued ID was verified by one of LinkedIn’s verification partners. In Singapore, members now have the option to verify their identity information through Persona , a leading identity verification platform.

Adding an identity verification is optional but encouraged. Having a verification badge on your LinkedIn profile can help foster a trusted community and help strengthen credibility when connecting to new opportunities.

How to verify your identity with Persona

To access and start Persona’s verification process, click 'More' on your LinkedIn profile on your LinkedIn mobile app, then 'About this profile', and then click Verify now.

You’ll be redirected to Persona’s verification process, which is accessible?through the LinkedIn App. You’ll then be prompted to carry out the following steps:

• Agree to Persona’s Identity Service Terms of Use and Persona’s Privacy Policy.?
• Take a photo of your government-issued NFC passport.
• Scan the NFC chip on the back of your passport cover.
• Take a photo of yourself. You must grant the LinkedIn app permission to access your mobile device camera to complete the identity verification.
• Click Yes, Share to share the verification and certain related information with LinkedIn.

If the name on your government-issued passport matches the name on your LinkedIn profile, your identity verification will then be visible on your profile. Your actual passport information itself will not be visible but LinkedIn may display the issuing country of your passport on your profile.

Your information

Although you’ll access Persona’s verification process through the LinkedIn app, Persona will be the party collecting certain personal data required to verify your identity, including an image of your passport and a selfie. After verifying your identity with Persona, you will choose to share the following with LinkedIn:

• Your name (as it appears on your passport)
• The type of ID document you’ve submitted to Persona to verify your identity (i.e., passport)
• The issuer of that ID document?
• Unique identifiers of your LinkedIn member ID and ID doc

LinkedIn will use this data to add a verification badge to your profile and for security purposes. LinkedIn doesn’t receive your biometric data or photos, numbers, or expiry or issue dates associated with your passport - these are used by Persona in accordance with their privacy policy.

You can remove your verification any time by visiting your settings.

Other steps to keep your account safe?

Besides verifying your account, there are several additional actions you can take to keep your account secure:

• Turn on two-step verification to add an additional layer of security to your account.
• Use a strong password. Don’t reuse passwords across multiple sites and pick long passwords that can't easily be guessed. Never give your password to others. Instead, consider using a password manager.
• Manage your account information and privacy settings from your Settings & Privacy page. Never put your email address, home address, or phone number in your public profile.
• Add an additional phone number or email address to help recover your account if you forget your password.