Yes, you can export your LinkedIn contacts, and no, LinkedIn will not hand you a VCF file. It exports a CSV containing first name, last name, email (only for connections who share it), company, job title and connection date. Getting a VCF takes two steps. Export the CSV from LinkedIn settings, then convert that CSV to VCF with the Univik VCF Converter. The resulting VCF has names, companies and titles, and email addresses only for the small share of connections who made theirs exportable.
Can You Export LinkedIn Contacts to VCF Directly?
You want to export your LinkedIn contacts to a VCF file so you can import them into your phone or email client. You go to LinkedIn settings, find the export option and download your data. Then you open the file and it is a CSV. Not a VCF.
That is not a bug. LinkedIn does not offer VCF export and never has. Getting a VCF file from LinkedIn takes two steps, export the CSV from LinkedIn, then convert that CSV to VCF.
Most guides skip that explanation and jump straight to steps, which is why readers end up confused. The other thing they skip matters even more, the reason your email column comes back mostly empty.
What LinkedIn Actually Gives You
Before you export anything, know what you are actually getting. LinkedIn’s Connections export is a snapshot of your first degree connections only. It produces a file called Connections.csv inside a ZIP archive.
| Field | Included? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Yes | Always included |
| Last Name | Yes | Always included |
| Email Address | Sometimes | Only when the connection has switched on the setting that allows email download in data exports, which is off by default. Most emails come back blank. |
| Company | Yes | Current company as listed on their profile |
| Job Title / Position | Yes | Current title as listed on their profile |
| Connected On | Yes | Date you connected |
| Phone Number | No | Connection phone numbers are not in the export, free or Premium |
| Profile URL | Yes | A URL column carries each connection’s profile link |
| Second or third degree connections | No | Only first degree connections are exportable |
Languages with extended character sets are not fully supported
LinkedIn’s official export help article confirms that its CSV and vCard formats do not support all characters. Contact names in Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew and other scripts can export incorrectly, so check your output file if your network includes contacts who write their names outside the Latin alphabet.
Step 1. How to Export LinkedIn Contacts as CSV
Open LinkedIn and go to your profile menu. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Select Settings and Privacy from the dropdown.
Find the data export option. In the left sidebar, click Data Privacy. Scroll down to the section called “How LinkedIn uses your data” and click Get a copy of your data.
Select Connections only, not the full archive. LinkedIn offers your full data archive or specific data. Choose specific data and tick only Connections. Watch for the separate Contacts category in the same list, which holds contacts synced from your phone or email account, a different thing from your LinkedIn network. The full archive is large and takes much longer, and you only need the Connections file.
Click Request archive. LinkedIn sends an email to your registered address with a download link. When we tested it, the Connections file arrived within the hour, while the full archive can take up to 24 hours, one more reason to request only the Connections file.
Download and extract the ZIP file. The email contains a link back to LinkedIn. Click it and then click Download archive. You get a ZIP file. Extract it and find the file named Connections.csv. That is your contact list.
Check the file before converting. Open Connections.csv in Excel or Google Sheets. LinkedIn adds a few note rows about missing email data at the top, so delete them until your column headers sit on row 1. Then see how many rows carry an email address. On the exports we have processed, 10 to 20 percent is the normal range. And if a spreadsheet was your destination all along, you are done here, the CSV opens in Excel directly and needs no conversion.
Two hiccups come up in this step. If the email never arrives, check your spam folder, confirm which address LinkedIn has under Settings and Account, and request again, since exports fail silently now and then. Or skip the email entirely, because the finished archive also appears on the same Data Privacy page under Download your data. And if the CSV holds fewer people than your connection count suggests, connections who deactivated their accounts are left out of the export.
Step 2. Convert the LinkedIn CSV to VCF
This is the step most guides leave out. LinkedIn gives you a CSV. Your phone, email client and address book apps expect VCF. You need to bridge the gap.
The conversion maps each CSV column to its matching vCard field, First Name to the N name property, Company to ORG, Email to EMAIL. A good converter handles the mapping automatically and produces a valid VCF file you can import directly.
The simplest option is a dedicated VCF converter that accepts CSV input. Univik VCF Converter handles this on Windows. Load the Connections.csv file, confirm the field mapping (the tool shows you which CSV column maps to which vCard property), then export to VCF format.
What to check in the field mapping step
LinkedIn’s CSV uses the column names “First Name”, “Last Name”, “URL”, “Email Address”, “Company”, “Position” and “Connected On”. A good converter recognises them automatically, and the profile link in the URL column maps to the vCard URL property, a handy way to jump from a phone contact back to the person’s profile. The one field that can need manual mapping is “Position”, since some converters expect “Job Title” instead. Map it to the TITLE vCard property so it appears correctly when you import the VCF into your address book.
Why Your Email Column is Empty
This is the most common frustration with LinkedIn exports, so here is exactly what is happening.
LinkedIn has a privacy toggle called “Allow your connections to download your email in their data export”. It is turned off by default for every account. Unless a connection has gone into their privacy settings and switched this option on, their email address will not appear in your export. That holds even when their profile shows you an email address on screen.
In practice, few LinkedIn users enable this setting. On the 1,000 connection networks we have processed, 50 to 200 email addresses is the realistic haul, and the rest of the Email Address column comes back blank. So any tool promising to export LinkedIn contacts with email addresses for your whole network is working outside the official export, and outside LinkedIn’s rules.
This is not something you can change or work around through the official export. LinkedIn enforces it deliberately, and it is correct behaviour under GDPR data portability rules, which give you a right to your own data, not to other people’s. The same logic answers a related search, you cannot export someone else’s LinkedIn contacts, only your own first degree network. And Sales Navigator saved leads sit outside this export too, the Connections file covers direct connections only.
You cannot export phone numbers at all. LinkedIn does not include phone numbers in any export. Free account or Premium. This is a hard platform limit, not a configuration issue.
You cannot export second or third degree connections. Only first degree connections, the people directly connected to you, appear in the export. People you follow without being connected are not included.
The file is a static snapshot. The export captures your network at the moment of download. If someone updates their job title or company the next day, your VCF will have the old information. LinkedIn does not provide a live sync.
Browser extensions that claim to extract emails carry risk. Some tools promise to pull emails from LinkedIn profiles that the official export misses. LinkedIn’s Terms of Service prohibit automated data extraction. Accounts caught using these tools can be restricted or permanently banned.
What to do With the VCF File
Once you have the VCF, four jobs cover most reasons people wanted it.
Import to Phone Contacts
Transfer the VCF to your iPhone or Android and tap to import. Your LinkedIn connections become phone contacts with name, company and title. See our guides for importing VCF to iPhone and importing VCF to Android for the full steps.
Import to Email Client
Import the VCF into Outlook, Google Contacts or Apple Contacts. Contacts with email addresses become reachable directly from your email client without going back to LinkedIn. Worth knowing, Google Contacts also accepts the LinkedIn CSV directly, so the VCF conversion is for the apps and phones that want vCards.
Archive Your Network
Store a dated VCF snapshot of your LinkedIn network as a backup. If your LinkedIn account is ever restricted or you leave the platform, you keep a copy of your connection data.
Migrate to a CRM
Many CRMs accept VCF imports directly. This gives you a structured starting point for a contacts database without manual entry. If duplicates appear after import, use Univik vCard Duplicate Remover to clean them before importing to the CRM.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does LinkedIn Export Contacts as VCF Directly?
No. LinkedIn’s native export produces a CSV file called Connections.csv, not a VCF. To get a VCF file you convert the CSV after downloading it. Export the CSV from LinkedIn settings, then run it through a CSV to VCF converter, and the whole job takes minutes.
Why are So Many Email Addresses Missing From My LinkedIn Export?
LinkedIn only includes an email address in the export when the connection has switched on “Allow your connections to download your email in their data export” in their privacy settings. This setting is off by default. Most of your connections will not have it enabled, so their email column will be blank. This is enforced at the platform level and cannot be changed or bypassed through the official export.
Can I Export LinkedIn Contacts With Phone Numbers?
No. LinkedIn does not include phone numbers in any contact export, regardless of account type. Free or Premium, the phone number field is not part of the data LinkedIn provides in connection exports.
How Long does It Take to Get the LinkedIn Connections Export?
Request only the Connections file rather than the full data archive, and the email with the download link arrives within minutes to a couple of hours, within the hour when we tested it. The full archive can take up to 24 hours. Selecting the specific “Connections” option is the difference.
Will the VCF Import Update If I Add New Connections on LinkedIn?
No. The export is a static snapshot at the time of download. New connections added after the export will not appear in the VCF. You need to repeat the export and conversion process whenever you want a fresh copy.
Can I Export Connections From LinkedIn Mobile App?
The reliable route is a desktop browser. The mobile apps have not offered the full data export consistently across versions, so open linkedin.com in a browser, go to Settings and Privacy, then Data Privacy, then Get a copy of your data. The download link arrives by email either way, and you can open that email anywhere.
The Bottom Line
Exporting LinkedIn contacts to VCF takes two steps because LinkedIn does not offer VCF export directly. Export the CSV from LinkedIn settings, convert it to VCF and import the result wherever you need it. What you get is a clean contact file with names, companies and titles and email addresses for whoever in your network has chosen to share them.
The empty email column is not a malfunction. It is LinkedIn’s privacy model working exactly as designed. Plan for it and your expectations match the output.
Where the file is headed decides the last step. A phone or email client wants the VCF as is. A CRM benefits from a duplicate cleanup first. And a spreadsheet needs no conversion at all, since the CSV opens in Excel the moment LinkedIn hands it over.