I answer these 50 times a day:

"Ruben, why should I not schedule my post on Linkedin?"

"Ruben, what's the matter with 3rd party tool?"

That's it. I had enough.

I am making this article the ultimate answer.

After reaching over 100 million views on Linkedin – organically – I am giving it all away.

I will say the things you don't want to hear.

I will force you to do the things you don't want to do.

So you can finally grow & hit the goal you dream to reach.

Using third-party tools with LinkedIn isn’t just risky—it’s a direct violation of LinkedIn’s User Agreement.

You simply cannot:

1. Scrape data.
2. Send bulk invitations.
3. Schedule posts with another tool.

And the consequences are severe.

1. Account Suspension and Permanent Bans

LinkedIn has zero tolerance for unauthorized access.

When third-party tools are detected, your account can be immediately suspended, cutting off your network, endorsements, and all the time invested in building your brand.

Permanent bans are also common.

Help yourself. Drop the "quick scheme" from automation & third-party tools.

If you're reading this, you are already serious about building a long-term life-lasting personal brand.

Water the plant drop by drop.

2. About your Reputation

LinkedIn is built on authenticity.

It's quite easy to smell 3rd party tool invitation automation.

And it smells terrible.

Even with 11,000+ connection requests, I read all of the notes I received.

Check this for example:

I know the first one at the top has this automation:

1. Go to Jasmin's account.
2. Check the people who commented.
3. Send them a connection request mentioning Jasmin.

It's a quick hack. It works for a few weeks. Maybe even months.

But people see it. You're just a disguised bot. Don't.

The bottom one – and here I'm happy to showcase her as she reads the newsletter :) - is genuine.

So Tamra, if you read this, I accepted your request and I'm happy to have you in my network.

The 3rd party tools to never use because of their Linkedin automation include, and are not limited to:

1. Dux-Soup
2. Dripify
3. Kaspr
4. LinkedHelper
5. Waalaxy
6. Phantombuster
7. Zopto
8. Expandi
9. MeetAlfred
10. Octopus CRM
11. Growth Genie
12. Leadsift
13. Snov.io
14. LeadFuze
15. The many other tools...

I will never have anything to do with them.

And you shouldn't either.

But how can you make sure you get rid of them?

3. How to Clean your Linkedin from Automation

Here's how to get rid of every automation from your Linkedin account.

Step 1: Go to your Settings on Linkedin.

Step 2: Go to "Data Privacy", and then "Permitted Services".

Step 3: Get rid of any automation, tools, or anything connected to your Linkedin.

That's the only way to 1) preserve 2) grow your Linkedin 3) for the long term.

4. Scheduling Destroys your Linkedin Organic Reach

LinkedIn’s algorithms are designed to detect and penalize automation.

But why?

Because any social media fights bots like the plague.

This is their number #1 threat: their social media becomes a bot fiesta, and no one can interact anymore.

They could easily lose the "social" of "social media".

But fighting bots sometimes means fighting humans too.

Let me give you an example: people - and by people I mean you - love to open many tabs.

Well, opening many Linkedin tabs is one of the fastest ways to get blocked.

Do not open more than 2x tabs on Linkedin.

Now that you know that even opening multiple tabs flags you, imagine scheduling a post using another tool.

It's like a red code alert for Linkedin → this account might be a bot.

And if it might be a bot → Linkedin needs to reduce its reach, "just in case".

That's why:

1) I will never use tools like Taplio or AuthoredUp. Never connect your account to any tool.

2) Even if hundreds - if not thousands - of users are on these platforms, I simply don't trust them.

It's simple: I don't know any top creators on Linkedin who schedule their posts.

They might push Taplio because they are paid by the platform, but they don't actually use it.

Welcome to Influence Marketing.

I've been there – done that.

But I've always done it the way I intended to: showcasing the one feature I liked about the platform.

I like the ability to get access to viral posts on Taplio for example.

1. Would I connect my account to Taplio? Never.
2. Do I think Taplio knows my "best posting time"? They don't.
3. Should I pay $60 per month just to get access to viral posts? I'm not sure.

Probably not.

Now comes the comment:

"OK, I should not use Third-Party tools, but Linkedin has this feature.I can use it – right?"

5. Linkedin Features Are the Ultimate Traps

I don't understand Linkedin sometimes.

And by Linkedin, I mean the people taking the decisions.

1. They fight bots with all their hearts – as they should!
2. But then they give access to people to... scheduling & AI comments.

Let's cover why you should never use these Linkedin features.

Scheduling through Linkedin is (probably) the cleanest way to schedule a post.

It's the way that will damage your reach the least.

But it will still damage your reach – especially long term.

The reason why is simple: you focus on the wrong thing.

You focus on:

1. Getting quick results, without any effort.
2. Scheduling a batch of AI posts, with no editing.
3. While never commenting or engaging with anyone else.

How can you ever grow a life-lasting community with this behavior?

You want the comments, the engagement & the benefits of a community...

... and not engage with any potential new member of this future community.

That's the #1 reason scheduling fosters the wrong behavior – on top of everything else.

The right behavior is the following:

1. Prepare your posts in advance.
2. Pick one time to engage & post.
3. Make it yours - it's your moment.
4. Engage 5-10 minutes before posting.
5. Engage 5-20 minutes after posting.
6. Where? With whom? Just go on your feed.
7. Once you see a creator you love, save that name.

Here's how I create my own feed with my favorite creators:

Step 1: Click on the search bar, do not write anything, and press "enter".

Step 2: Click on "Posts", and then "From member" to build your own feed.

Step 3: Click on" Sort by" and sort by "Latest".

Now to be organized with my Linkedin posts, I use the webapp of ​EasyGen​.

6. AI Comments: the Doom of Linkedin

Now let's talk about AI comments.

But I think at this point, it's quite obvious.

Is this the interaction you want to have with your soon-to-be community?

If your answer is yes → go for it, but don't expect anything.

If your answer is no → you understand the difference between "AI to be greater" instead of "lazier".

I use AI to help me write posts. I don't use AI to replace myself as a writer.

Be greater–not lazier.

Do not write quick AI comments without any edits. Even if Linkedin gives it to you.

7. The Bottom Line

Connecting unauthorized third-party tools to your LinkedIn isn’t worth the gamble.

The repercussions—from account suspensions and damaged reputations to legal risks and loss of data control—are too severe.

The only way to grow your LinkedIn presence is by being authentic.

As I always tell my community: bot behavior = bad behavior.

Be a human being. Use AI to be a better version of yourself–not a lazier version.

Keep it real, stay compliant, and focus on building that community drop by drop.

PS: What about ​EasyGen.io​?

This is my AI to help me write Linkedin posts.

As the founder, I will say it here & forever:

1. I will never connect to your Linkedin.
2. I will never use your account to scrape data.
3. I will never build the features that some want which damages your account.

If I'm not using it as a user, I'm not building it.

As simple as that.

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