Hitting LinkedIn’s messaging or connection limits is REALLY frustrating.

But what if you could send a LinkedIn DM to a lead, without sending a connection request or using up your InMail credits?

That’s where LinkedIn Open Profiles come in.

But how to find open profiles on LinkedIn?

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What LinkedIn Open Profiles are

• How to find them manually or with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

• How to use them to message more leads without burning your connection or InMail limits

• How to turn on Open Profile on LinkedIn

Let’s get into it.

What Is an LinkedIn Open Profile?

LinkedIn’s Open Profile is a feature available to paid users that lets anyone message them for free, even if you’re not connected.

Basically, it's useful if you want to send a message to people who are in your 2nd and 3rd-degree connections.

So, if someone has Open Profile turned on:

• You can send them a direct message without a connection request

• It won’t cost you an InMail credit

What happens if someone is NOT an Open Profile

If a person isn’t an Open Profile, you’ll see a message like this when you try to contact them.

To send them an InMail, you’ll need to use your InMail credits.

Sometimes, there’s no way around it , if you really want to reach them, you’ll need to spend acredit.

💡 Pro tip: That’s why it’s smart to target "Open Profiles" first, so you can save your credits for key leads.

How to Turn On Open Profile on LinkedIn?

Here’s how to activate Open Profile if you have a LinkedIn paid plan (Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter).

Step 1: Click on the pencil

Go to your LinkedIn profile, and click on the pencil next to your LinkedIn Premium badge.

Step 2: Turn on your Open Profile on LinkedIn

Then, you have to:

1. Click on the "Open Profile" dropdown

2. Toggle the button to "On"

3. Click on Save

Done! Your profile is now an "Open Profile".

Now anyone on LinkedIn — even those outside your network — can message you for free.

How to Find an Open Profile on LinkedIn

You’ve got two options to spot Open Profiles:

1. Manually by checking profiles one by one

2. At scale using Sales Navigator and a tool like GiveMeLeads to filter and export a full list

I’d recommend the manual method for quick checks, and the bulk method if you’re doing outreach at scale.

Method 1: Manual Method

If you're browsing LinkedIn profiles one by one, here's how to check if someone is an Open Profile:

1. Go to their profile

2. Click the “Message” button

3. If you see “Free message” appear, it’s an Open Profile

It’s quick, but not scalable if you’re trying to message dozens of people per day.

Method 2: How to Find Open Profiles at Scale with LinkedIn Sales Navigator

You can’t filter Open Profiles directly in LinkedIn Sales Navigator, but you can still find Open Profile at scale.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator has more than 40+ filters. But you don't have an "Open Profile" filters.

If you want to detect Open Profiles from a full lead list, here’s how to do it:

1. Make a Sales Navigator Search

2. Export Your Search into CSV with GiveMeLeads

3. Check the “Open Profile” Column

Let's dive in!

Make a Sales Navigator Search

You can’t filter Open Profiles directly in Sales Navigator.

LinkedIn intentionally doesn’t include “Open Profile” as a search filter. They do that to avoid spam and protect users who allow free messages.

But don’t worry. There’s a simple workaround to find them.

The first step is to create a list of leads.

To do that, you can use filters like:

• Company size

• Current job title (don't forget to use the boolean operators to narrow down your search)

• Years of experience

• Geography

• And more

🎥 If you want to check how to use the boolean operators to find better leads, you can check this video:

You can even leverage LinkedIn Intent Data like:

• Connections of (useful to check the people in the network of your competitors)

• People who posted on LinkedIn recently

• People who viewed your profile recently`

• People who are following your company

• Etc

🎥 If you don't know how to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to generate leads, you can check this in-depth video:

Export Your Search into CSV with GiveMeLeads

Follow the 5 steps to export your leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator and check if they are Open Profiles.

1. Create a GiveMeLeads account

2. Download the Chrome Extension

3. Select your target on LinkedIn Sales Navigator

4. Launch your export

5. Download your leads file

Let's dive in!

Step 1: Create a GiveMeLeads account

Go on GiveMeLeads. Then click on "Get first 10 leads for free".

Then, you have to write your:

1. First Name

2. Last Name

3. Email

4. Password

And click on "Create account".

Step 2: Download the Chrome Extension

The GiveMeLeads Chrome extension allows you to export your LinkedIn Sales Navigator leads with one click.

It's not mandatory to use it — you can also copy and paste the Sales Navigator search URL directly into the platform.

However, using the extension makes the process faster and easier, especially if you're just getting started.

Step 3: Select your target on LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Go to LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Use filters to find your ideal leads (like job title, company size, or location).

Then click “Extract leads” using the GiveMeLeads extension or paste the search URL on the platform.

Step 4: Launch your export

You target is set up. Now it's time to export your leads.

For that, click on "New Leads Export".

You will get a pop-up where you can select:

• The number of leads you want to export

• If you want to schedule this export on a weekly basis.

Then click on "Export Leads".

Step 5: Download your leads file

When your export is finished, you’ll receive an email with a download link.

You can also download your file directly by clicking the "Download" button in your dashboard.

Click on "Download CSV"

This gives you the full file with all available data. For each lead, you’ll see extra info like:

• Whether they have LinkedIn Premium

• Their total years of experience

• Company details like size, industry, and location

• And of course, if they are open profile

Here's all the informations you can have:

💡 Pro tip: Don’t forget to scroll horizontally — there's a lot of valuable data in your lead file, including job titles, company size, verified emails, and even intent signals.

On top of that, GiveMeLeads automatically cleans your data:

• Fixes capital letters in names and job titles

• Removes emojis from job titles

• Removes legal suffixes in company names (like LLC, GmbH, etc.)

GiveMeLeads also checks if each lead matches your LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters.

If a lead doesn’t fit — for example, they have:

• An invalid job title

• Invalid location

• Wrong company size work

• Etc

We tag them in the column "filters" with the reason they’re invalid (like “Invalid job title” or “Wrong company size”).

That way, you keep full control of your data and don’t waste time guessing why a lead doesn’t match your targeting.

With GiveMeLeads, you get the verified professional email of every lead — even if they’re in your 2nd or 3rd-degree connections.

💡 Pro tip: No need to use separate tools to find or verify emails. Everything’s already cleaned, verified, and ready to go.

Step 6: Check the “is_open” Column

In the CSV file, look for the column called “is_open”.

• If you see "TRUE", the lead is Open Profile

• If you see "FALSE", the lead is NOT a Open Profile

How to Make the Most of LinkedIn Open Profiles

Now that you know how to find Open Profiles, here’s how to use them to your advantage:

Send "Unlimited" InMails

If your leads are "Open Profiles", you can message them for free. You don't need InMail credits.

In simple terms, that means you can send as many messages as you want without hitting a limit.

🎥 If you want to check how InMail works, you can check this video:

💡 Pro tip: Don’t copy-paste the same boring message to everyone. Try personnalise your messages. You can use the Alerts feature for your icebreaker.

Save your Connection Requests

If you have a LinkedIn paid plan, you can send between 100 to 200 connection requests per week. That's part of the LinkedIn limits.

But now that you know how to find "Open Profile" on LinkedIn, you can split your outreach into two smart campaigns:

• Open Profiles → Contact them directly via InMails (no need to send a connection request)

• Regular Profiles → Use traditional connection requests

This method helps you stretch your weekly limit of 100–200 connection requests and get more replies for less effort.

You will less annoyed with this screen:

Final Thoughts

Now you know exactly how to find and extract LinkedIn "Open Profiles".

Manual methods work if you’re just browsing. But if you want to go fast and scale your outreach, combine Sales Navigator with GiveMeLeads.

It’s fast, accurate, and gives you the "Open Profile" status instantly so you can focus on what matters: sending messages and book sales calls with decision makers.

FAQ

What Is the Open Profile Message on LinkedIn?

It’s simply a direct message you send to someone who has Open Profile activated. You’ll see “Free Message” instead of “InMail credits” meaning it won’t cost you a credit or require a connection.

How Can I Search for Open Profiles on LinkedIn?

There’s no official filter for Open Profiles on LinkedIn or Sales Navigator. But using GiveMeLeads, you can uncover which leads are Open Profiles after exporting your list.

It’s the most efficient way to scale outreach without burning through invites or InMail credits. come in.