Tools + methods for refreshing your LinkedIn connection archive in 2026. Bright Data top pick; cookie-handoff SaaS now dangerous post Q1-2026 fingerprinting update. See docs/research/linkedin-mutuals-scraping.md for full writeup.
My 2026 pick: Bright Data LinkedIn Scraper API for bulk refresh + 150-line Playwright/Python URL reconciliation script.
Why: ~$830 one-shot for all 16,600 connections. Runs from Bright Data's infra (my account never authenticates). Survived Q1-2026 LinkedIn detection update. Cookie-handoff SaaS (Phantombuster, Apify bebity, Wiza, Evaboot) is now meaningfully more dangerous to my account than 12 months ago.
⚠️ Time-sensitive caveat: LinkedIn deployed session-fingerprinting in Q1-2026 that flags bots in 48 hours (was weeks). HeyReach was banned March 2026.
Baseline: unlinked.ai already has 16,600 connections via LinkedIn's official data export (ToS-clean, but stale by design — refresh quarterly).
| # | Content | Link | Section | Status | Visibility | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LinkedIn Data Export (Get a copy of your data) Official LinkedIn export — names + connection date + email (if connection opted in). No profile URL, no photos, no work history of others. | www.linkedin.com | — | — | inherit | www.linkedin.com |
| 2 | LinkedIn Member Data Portability API (DMA/EU only) Official OAuth API for your own profile data — 17 domains including positions/education/skills. EU/EEA/Switzerland members only. | www.linkedin.com | — | — | inherit | www.linkedin.com |
| 3 | LinkedIn REST API (OAuth, Sign In with LinkedIn) Official developer API. As of 2026: OIDC `openid`/`profile`/`email` scopes only. No connection list scope. Marketing/Recruiter APIs are partner-gated. | developer.linkedin.com | — | — | inherit | developer.linkedin.com |
| 4 | LinkedIn Sales Navigator API (SNAP) Partner-gated API for enterprises with Sales Nav contracts. New applications closed since 2025-08-20. | business.linkedin.com | — | — | inherit | business.linkedin.com |
| 5 | tomquirk/linkedin-api (Python Voyager wrapper) Reverse-engineered Python client for LinkedIn's internal Voyager API. Last release v2.3.1 Nov 2024. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 6 | joeyism/linkedin_scraper (Python Playwright) Python Playwright-based DOM scraper. v3.1.1 January 2026 — actively maintained. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 7 | scrapfly/linkedin-scraper (open source ref impl) Open-source reference scraper from Scrapfly, updated 2026. Combines HTTP + headless approaches. | scrapfly.io | — | — | inherit | scrapfly.io |
| 8 | nsandman/linkedin-api (Voyager fork) Active fork of tomquirk's library with bug fixes. Smaller community but more recent commits. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 9 | Hand-rolled Playwright + persistent context (recommended) Write ~200 lines of Python: persistent Chromium profile, log in once manually, paginate /mynetwork/invite-connect/connections/, save URLs + scrape profiles. | playwright.dev | — | — | inherit | playwright.dev |
| 10 | playwright-stealth (Python) Patches ~20 navigator/window properties Playwright leaks. Active 2026, context-manager API. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 11 | puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth (Node.js) Node equivalent of playwright-stealth. 8k stars. Confirmed detected by LinkedIn specifically. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 12 | browser-use (AI agent) LLM-driven Playwright agent. 94k stars, v0.12.6 April 2026. Theoretically navigates LinkedIn for you. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 13 | Skyvern (computer-vision agent) LLM + CV-driven browser agent. Active 2026. Their own blog discusses LinkedIn cautiously. | github.com | — | — | inherit | github.com |
| 14 | Apify — bebity LinkedIn Companies & Profiles Bulk Scraper Apify actor that bulk-scrapes profiles/companies by URL/search. Cookie-based. | apify.com | — | — | inherit | apify.com |
| 15 | Apify — HarvestAPI LinkedIn Profile Search (no cookies) Apify actor that scrapes LinkedIn profile search results WITHOUT requiring your cookie. | apify.com | — | — | inherit | apify.com |
| 16 | Apify — get-leads LinkedIn Scraper (8 modes, no cookies) 8-mode Apify actor: company employees, profile details, search, etc. No cookie required. | apify.com | — | — | inherit | apify.com |
| 17 | Bright Data LinkedIn Scraper API + Datasets Enterprise-grade scraper. $0.05/profile pay-as-you-go; 899M+ profile dataset available. | brightdata.com | — | — | inherit | brightdata.com |
| 18 | Phantombuster — LinkedIn Connections Export Phantom Cloud phantom that pulls your full connection list using your cookie. Active 2026. | phantombuster.com | — | — | inherit | phantombuster.com |
| 19 | Evaboot — Sales Navigator export Chrome extension Chrome extension exports cleaned Sales Navigator search results + verified emails. $9-$99/mo. | evaboot.com | — | — | inherit | evaboot.com |
| 20 | Wiza — Sales Navigator bulk export + email verify Bulk-export 2,500-per-list contacts from Sales Navigator with verified emails. $49-$399/mo. | wiza.co | — | — | inherit | wiza.co |
| 21 | Dripify — LinkedIn outreach automation Cloud outreach platform — sends connection requests, messages, profile views. $39-$79/mo. | dripify.io | — | — | inherit | dripify.io |
| 22 | Expandi — LinkedIn outreach with dedicated IP Cloud outreach with dedicated IP + smart pacing. $99/mo. Sales-team-oriented. | expandi.io | — | — | inherit | expandi.io |
| 23 | Lemlist — email-first multichannel with LinkedIn steps Email outreach platform that adds LinkedIn touchpoints. $99/mo multichannel tier. | lemlist.com | — | — | inherit | lemlist.com |
| 24 | Apollo.io — proprietary B2B contact database 275M+ proprietary contact DB. Licensed/scraped origin opaque. Lookup by LinkedIn URL. | apollo.io | — | — | inherit | apollo.io |
| 25 | Clay.com — multi-source waterfall enrichment Aggregates 100+ data providers (Apollo, Clearbit, PDL, LinkedIn via licensed sources). Waterfall enrichment. | clay.com | — | — | inherit | clay.com |
| 26 | RocketReach — 700M-profile proprietary DB 700M profiles aggregated from 100+ public sources. $33-$99/mo personal tiers. | rocketreach.co | — | — | inherit | rocketreach.co |
| 27 | Skrapp — email-finder with LinkedIn extension Email-finder primary, with Chrome extension that grabs emails from LinkedIn profiles you visit. $29/mo. | skrapp.io | — | — | inherit | skrapp.io |
| 28 | NinjaPear (ex-Proxycurl team) Successor to shut-down Proxycurl. 'Public-sourced' employee data, claims no LinkedIn scraping. | nubela.co | — | — | inherit | nubela.co |
| 29 | unlinked.ai — Jacob's existing 16.6K-connection export Jacob already has this. Imports LinkedIn data archive, builds searchable graph. Doesn't refresh automatically — user re-uploads archive periodically. | unlinked.ai | — | — | inherit | unlinked.ai |
| 30 | Tampermonkey / Greasyfork connection exporters User-scripts that ride your real Chrome session. Lowest detection signature, but most are stale (2018-2024). | greasyfork.org | — | — | inherit | greasyfork.org |
| 31 | Generic LinkedIn-scraper Chrome extensions LinkedIn explicitly prohibits and actively detects scraping extensions. Class-action suits filed 2025. | www.linkedin.com | — | — | inherit | www.linkedin.com |
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