LinkedIn saw a 14% rise in EU users in the first half of 2025, while it’s also seen steady increases in user reports of misinformation and hate speech, as more people come to engage on the platform.

That’s according to LinkedIn’s latest EU DSA disclosure report, which outlines all of its moderation and enforcement efforts, as well as total users in the EU region. You can check out LinkedIn’s full listing of DSA reports here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at the latest numbers.

First off, on active users. In the first half of 2025, LinkedIn reports that it had 54.7m logged in monthly active European users, as well as 213m logged out visits.

Since March 2024, LinkedIn has seen the biggest relative audience increases, based on active user counts, in Slovenia (+100%), Lithuania (+50%) and Czechia (+33%), while in its biggest EU user markets, it’s seen an average of 10% MAU growth, using its logged in user stats.

What’s most interesting about this data, however, is that we can also compare this to LinkedIn’s total member data, which it reports to showcase its growth.

According to this chart, LinkedIn now has more than 160 million members in Europe, yet its actual usage stats show that only 54.7 million of them are logging in monthly. Which means that LinkedIn’s average usage, based on these numbers, is around 36%.

Assuming that’s the same sort of average engagement that it’s seeing in all regions, that would peg LinkedIn’s active logged-in usage at around 432 million MAU, which is significantly different to the 1.2 billion member stat that it prefers to report.

But that would be a better indicator of actual overall usage and engagement, though LinkedIn has also reported “record levels” of engagement every quarter since 2018. So maybe more engagement, but using its EU performance data as an indicative measure, LinkedIn’s active user count is more likely around 432 million or so.

That’s not to play down LinkedIn’s growth, as it is still seeing double-digit active user increases in most markets. But it is worth breaking down what LinkedIn’s reported numbers actually represent in real interaction and usage.

In terms of moderation staff, LinkedIn continues to add more moderators, and is now up to 1,757 staff globally. That’s an increase of 52% since March 2024, so while LinkedIn is looking to integrate AI into every aspect of the app, it’s still relying on humans to manage user reports and enforcement.

In terms of specific violations, LinkedIn saw a 25% increase in user reports of misinformation in the first half of this year (versus last report), while it’s also seen a 12% increase in reports of hate speech. Given that more people are using the app, this makes sense, but these are noteworthy increases in user concerns.

Interestingly, LinkedIn has only reported an 11% increase in reports of fake accounts in the app year-over-year among EU members. That’s interesting because many LinkedIn users have raised concerns about the rise of fake engagement in the app, though many of those concerns relate to artificial engagement, via engagement pods, and not necessarily fake users.

Also worth noting: LinkedIn’s EU members have reported many more cases of harassment, with a 33% increase in user reports year-over-year.

Some interesting data on LinkedIn’s relative performance, and how it’s growing in EU usage. And given that LinkedIn rarely shares any actual user data, it does provide some interesting context on its actual growth, and how it’s performing as it sees more user engagement.

You can check out all of LinkedIn’s DSA reports here.

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LinkedIn has done it again.

Every quarter, LinkedIn’s parent company Microsoft posts its performance update, which outlines all of its various tech projects and elements, and how they’ve fared over the preceding three months.

And every time, without fail, in literally every update on LinkedIn’s performance since 2018 (except one), in virtually every report since it acquired the platform, Microsoft has reported the exact same thing:

“LinkedIn saw record levels of engagement.”

Which seems impossible, right? Surely LinkedIn can’t be seeing “record levels” of engagement every single quarter. Right?

What about the Christmas period, LinkedIn’s seeing “record levels” of engagement then, over and above regular interaction? I mean, sure, LinkedIn’s always adding more users (or members at least), and that should lead to more interaction and engagement. But LinkedIn also lost 54 million users when it shut down its app in China back in 2021, which, you would assume, would have had some impact on this element.

Surely it can’t be setting a new record for engagement in the app every single quarter.

Right?

With that in mind, let’s see what Microsoft has reported in its latest earnings update?

Oh wow, what a surprise. LinkedIn saw a 9% increase in overall revenue, and 7% sessions growth, with “record engagement.”

Cool cool, all makes sense, record levels. Sure.

Of course, these are only surface-level stats, and we don’t have enough to go on to make a real assessment of LinkedIn’s actual activity levels. As such, we also don’t know what “sessions growth” actually relates to without a reference point, though in its accompanying earnings call, LinkedIn did also note that comments are up over 30%, and video uploads have increased by more than 20% this year.

So, more direct interactions, while video has become a much bigger consideration for LinkedIn users.

LinkedIn also recently reported that videos are 20x more likely to be shared in the app, while video content also generates 1.4x more engagement than other post types. 

Worth considering in your approach.

In terms of overall growth, LinkedIn has also reported that it’s now up to 1.2 billion members, rising from the billion that it reported in July last year.  

Of course, as always, it’s worth noting that “members” and “active users” are two different things, and on that front, LinkedIn’s active usage is more likely around 400 million monthly users.

But it sounds good, I guess. “Record levels” of engagement, “1.2 billion members.” It sounds better than “slight increase in engagement” and “400 million MAU.” And Microsoft isn’t obligated to report anything further, so it’s not like it’s doing anything wrong, it just seems a little unclear, and potentially misleading as to LinkedIn’s actual performance.

That’s also become a point of contention among LinkedIn users, who have reported seeing more and more examples of automated engagement, and engagement pod activity in the app.

Engagement pods are coordinated groups of users that work together to comment, like and engage with each other’s posts, in order to boost their reach via platform algorithms. And like other social apps, there’s a range of platforms and offerings that provide LinkedIn pods as a service, and LinkedIn users have provided data to SMT which shows that artificial engagement activity like this is fairly common in the app.

The scale of such is relative. Thousands of posts that see artificial engagement activity, based on millions of active users, may not be as significant as it might seem to the individual user. But there are clearly a lot of artificial engagements happening in the app, which are getting harder to detect due to the adoption of AI tools to create such.

Combine that with LinkedIn coaches who encourage users to comment and engage as much as they can in the app, in order to increase their visibility, which in itself could indirectly contribute to engagement pod activity, and this is a difficult challenge to police, though LinkedIn tells me that it is working to address it.

I spoke to LinkedIn about the concerns with engagement pods and automated engagement, and its team is well aware of the concern, and is actively working to improve its detection and enforcement measures. LinkedIn says that it reduces the reach of such activity when detected, while it’s also looking to educate creators on how, and why they should avoid such activity.

In addition, LinkedIn says that its actively taking action against engagement pods that violate its Terms of Service through behaviors like automation. And while some of this activity is difficult for LinkedIn itself to enforce, given that such programs are often coordinated off-platform, it is aware of the engagement pod services that it exist, which is another area it’s exploring.

It couldn’t provide in-depth insight into its plans on this front, but LinkedIn has been pursuing legal action against other services for different violations of its usage terms, and at least some of these engagement pod groups could soon be in its sights on this front as well.

But essentially, LinkedIn is aware of the concern. And while it may be frustrating for LinkedIn users who are seeking to build their presence the right way, and it may seem like LinkedIn isn’t doing enough to address it (because, as some have suggested, LinkedIn benefits from the resulting engagement), LinkedIn is aware of the problem, and it is looking to address such misuse.

Microsoft has also made note of LinkedIn’s evolving AI tools, with the platform looking to “bring AI to every part of the LinkedIn experience, introducing agents across hiring as well as sales.”

Agents are part of LinkedIn’s next big AI push, with AI bots that can undertake tasks on your behalf, while LinkedIn has also added a range of generative AI elements to the post and profile creation process.

Which probably also ties back into the broader concerns with artificial engagement in the app, and could be another factor clouding LinkedIn’s enforcement of this element. But with Microsoft investing big into OpenAI, it’s keen to add AI everywhere that it can, and as such, LinkedIn is inevitable also going to see an increase in AI generated interaction.

Overall, however, LinkedIn’s performance seems pretty solid, with more engagement, particularly with video content, though concerns to be addressed with fake interactions. But LinkedIn remains the key platform for professional connection, and amidst tougher economic conditions, it will continue to be an increasingly relevant and valuable tool for such.  

Thanks to Elliot Grossbard for providing additional data for this story.

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LinkedIn’s adding a new competitive element to its in-app gaming feature, with group leaderboards set to show how you rank on each game in comparison to your LinkedIn connections.

As you can see in this example, LinkedIn is currently alerting games players about the coming leaderboard display, coming next month, which will add another, more personally relevant perspective to its gaming experience.

The new leaderboard will show daily rankings based for each game that you and your connections (who’ve opted in) have played, so you can compete on performance, and discuss gaming strategies. Anybody who plays a game in the app will be shown this pop-up alert in the app over the next week.  

To be clear, LinkedIn has offered different versions of its gaming leaderboards since it first launched its in-app gaming options in May last year, displaying comparative performance between members from different companies, schools, etc.

This one is more specifically aligned to your connections, which could be a more valuable and engaging showcase.

If your connections are playing any of the games, that is.

On that front, LinkedIn says that its in-app games have been relatively popular, with “millions” of LinkedIn members now playing its games every day, and 84% of those who do play returning to try again.

I mean, “millions” is clearly a lot, but with a billion total members, and around 400 million active users, it might be only a small percentage of the platform’s total audience that are actually playing these games.

But clearly, LinkedIn believes that it’s worth the investment, with the platform continuing to add new games, and new features like this to enhance its gaming engagement.

So there’s something there, and if it helps LinkedIn continue to post “record levels” of in-app engagement, it’s likely worth the platform continuing to support the option.

It still feels a little out of place for my liking, but sparking competition and engagement among colleagues, and former colleagues, could be another means to connect and expand its broader networking opportunities.

LinkedIn says that it’s launching its updated leaderboards next month.

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