Hong Kong Regulators Warn LinkedIn Users About AI Data Training Starting November 3, 2025

• Why Are Hong Kong Regulators Sounding the Alarm?
• How Did We Get Here?
• What Data Is LinkedIn Using?
• The Microsoft Connection
• How to Opt Out (Before November 3)
• The Bigger Picture: AI’s Data Hunger
• What’s Next?
• Your LinkedIn AI Questions Answered

review your privacy settings now. The professional networking giant is set to resume using personal data to train generative AI models starting November 3, 2025. Here’s what you need to know—and how to opt out.

Why Are Hong Kong Regulators Sounding the Alarm?

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) confirmed that LinkedIn will begin scraping user profiles, posts, resumes, and public activity to train its AI systems. This includes data from Hong Kong, the EU, UK, Switzerland, Canada, and the European Economic Area. Privacy Commissioner ADA Chung Lai-ling urged users to "carefully review LinkedIn’s updated privacy policy" and decide whether to consent.

How Did We Get Here?

Back in September 2025, LinkedIn announced plans to repurpose user data for AI training—triggering regulatory pushback. Hong Kong’s PCPD forced a temporary halt in late 2024 over concerns about default opt-in settings. After months of negotiations, LinkedIn pledged to give Hong Kong users control, but the clock is ticking: the new policy takes effect in days.

What Data Is LinkedIn Using?

• Full profile details (education, work history)
• Public posts and articles
• Resume/CV information
• Engagement metrics (likes, comments)

Private messages won’t be included, and users under 18 are exempt. But as I’ve seen with Meta’s similar moves last year, "public" data often includes more than users realize.

The Microsoft Connection

Here’s where it gets interesting. LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft) will share this data with Microsoft affiliates—including OpenAI. Yes, the ChatGPT maker that Microsoft heavily backs. Coincidentally, Goldman Sachs’ data chief recently warned that AI models are "running out of training data." Now we know why they’re scraping LinkedIn.

How to Opt Out (Before November 3)

1. Go to Account Settings > Data Privacy
2. Select "Generative AI Data Enhancement"
3. Toggle off "Use my data to train AI models"

Pro tip: Do this on desktop—the mobile app tends to bury these options.

The Bigger Picture: AI’s Data Hunger

OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever wasn’t kidding when he said AI development WOULD hit a wall without new data sources. With platforms like LinkedIn and Meta becoming data farms, we’re seeing a mad scramble. As a tech analyst, I’ve noticed more companies pivoting to "active AI agents" that learn autonomously—which brings its own cybersecurity risks.

What’s Next?

Hong Kong’s PCPD vows ongoing monitoring, but the cat might already be out of the bag. If you’ve ever wondered why your LinkedIn feed suddenly shows eerily accurate job suggestions, well… now you know.

This article does not constitute investment advice.

Your LinkedIn AI Questions Answered

What data is LinkedIn using for AI training?

LinkedIn will use your profile details, public posts, resumes, and engagement data—but not private messages or data from users under 18.

How does this affect Hong Kong users specifically?

After regulatory intervention in 2024, Hong Kong users gained explicit opt-out controls not universally available elsewhere.

What’s Microsoft’s role in this?

Microsoft (LinkedIn’s parent company) may share this data with affiliates like OpenAI to train models including ChatGPT.