Shield is shutting down. After seven years of helping creators track their LinkedIn stats, the team announced it is winding down the product for good.

If Shield was your analytics home, you now have two urgent jobs: save your data, and find a new tool before you lose track of what works. We lined up the best Shield alternatives and a simple migration plan.

Why Shield is shutting down

On their official wind-down page, the founders are direct about the reason: "Both Google and LinkedIn made it clear that we could not continue operating Shield as it was built. We decided not to fight it."

Shield launched in 2018 and served tens of thousands of creators, writers, founders and operators. It was a genuinely loved product, which makes the lesson sting more.

That lesson: analytics tools that rely on fragile access to LinkedIn data live under permanent platform risk. When you pick a replacement, pick a team with the size and track record to adapt when LinkedIn changes the rules.

What to look for in a Shield replacement

Shield did one thing extremely well: it turned your LinkedIn activity into dashboards you could actually read. Your next tool should cover at least this checklist:

• Post-level analytics: impressions, reactions, comments, shares for every post
• Profile trends: follower growth, engagement rate over time, best posting times
• Data export, so you are never locked in again
• A business model that does not depend on scraping alone
• Ideally, tools to act on the data: writing, scheduling, engaging

That last point is the real upgrade opportunity. Shield told you what happened. The best replacements also help you do something about it.

The best Shield alternatives in 2026

1. Taplio: analytics plus everything around them

Taplio includes a full LinkedIn analytics dashboard that covers what Shield users relied on: impressions, engagement rate, follower growth, and per-post performance, all in one view.

The difference is what sits around the analytics. Taplio is a complete LinkedIn growth tool: AI-assisted writing, a scheduler, a contacts CRM, and engagement features to grow from the data instead of just reading it.

Best for: creators, founders and teams who want analytics and the content workflow in one place.

Pricing: paid plans with a free trial, see the pricing page for current tiers.

2. Inlytics: pure analytics dashboard

Inlytics is the closest thing to a like-for-like Shield replacement if all you want is analytics. It visualizes your post performance and profile trends in a clean dashboard.

Best for: solo creators who only need reporting, without content tools.

3. AuthoredUp: formatting and post stats

AuthoredUp focuses on drafting and formatting LinkedIn posts, with post statistics included. Analytics are lighter than Shield's were, but the writing experience is strong.

Best for: writers who care more about drafting than about deep analytics.

4. SocialInsider: company page benchmarks

SocialInsider is built for brands and agencies. It benchmarks company pages against competitors across social networks, LinkedIn included.

Best for: marketing teams reporting on company pages rather than personal profiles.

5. LinkedIn native analytics: the free fallback

LinkedIn's built-in analytics have improved and they are free. But history is limited, exports are basic, and there are no benchmarks or content tools.

Best for: casual posters who check their numbers once a month.

How to migrate from Shield without losing your history

• Export everything from Shield now, while the app still works: CSV exports and screenshots of your key dashboards
• Write down your baseline numbers: average impressions per post, engagement rate, follower count. You can recompute your rate anytime with our free engagement rate calculator
• Set up your new tool and let it start collecting data immediately. The sooner it starts, the less of a gap you will have
• Compare your new numbers against real market data. Our guide to LinkedIn engagement rate benchmarks tells you what a good rate looks like in 2026

If you are unsure how to read your numbers once you migrate, start with our guide on what LinkedIn impressions really mean.

Shield vs Taplio: what actually changes

Shield was a mirror: it showed you your LinkedIn performance. Taplio is a mirror plus an engine.

• Analytics: same core metrics (impressions, engagement, followers), presented per post and over time
• Content: AI writing help, a viral post library and a scheduler that Shield never had
• Growth: engagement lists and a leads database to turn content performance into pipeline

If you want to compare more tools before deciding, we keep an up-to-date list of the best LinkedIn analytics tools.

FAQ

Is Shield shutting down?

Yes. The team announced it on their official wind-down page: Google and LinkedIn made it clear they could not continue operating Shield as it was built, and they decided not to fight it.

Can I still sign up for Shield?

No. Shield is winding down and no longer onboarding new users. Existing users should export their data as soon as possible.

What is the best Shield alternative?

It depends on what you used Shield for. For analytics plus a full content workflow, Taplio is the strongest option. For a pure analytics dashboard, look at Inlytics. For drafting and formatting, AuthoredUp.

Can I export my Shield data?

Export your CSV files and dashboards while the app is still accessible. If you run into trouble, the team remains reachable at [email protected].

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