This thread is a great example of filter-bubble thinking.
There is a trade-off between security and features here, and while for some people it'll be worth it for others it won't.
The majority of posters here are likely developers/technical people for who the features aren't that important and for who security is a much higher priority (because they're thinking about it from a personal email perspective rather than a professional email perspective).
For people working in bizdev, sales, recruitment, etc. their equation is completely different. This delivers them high-value (being able to close more deals faster) with a relatively lower security trade-off.
Their professional email account is likely already hooked into their CRM, email analytics, backup service, audit and archiving services, address book services, etc. Their PA and corporate IT likely has access to their email as well. Adding Linkedin is just one more service from a company they already trust with highly confidential information (leads, Linkedin inbox mails, etc.)
(incidentally I'm guessing a lot of HN users probably have half a dozen chrome extensions for SEO, screen grabbing, debugging, etc. from unverified sources which have access to far more information than just your email credentials)
How technical or not you are has nothing to do with how much you care about the security of your email. LI is just hoping that they'll gain trust by being open about their process because they're counting on that "transparency" to help people feel comfortable about installing it.
There is a trade-off between security and features here, and while for some people it'll be worth it for others it won't.
The majority of posters here are likely developers/technical people for who the features aren't that important and for who security is a much higher priority (because they're thinking about it from a personal email perspective rather than a professional email perspective).
For people working in bizdev, sales, recruitment, etc. their equation is completely different. This delivers them high-value (being able to close more deals faster) with a relatively lower security trade-off.
Their professional email account is likely already hooked into their CRM, email analytics, backup service, audit and archiving services, address book services, etc. Their PA and corporate IT likely has access to their email as well. Adding Linkedin is just one more service from a company they already trust with highly confidential information (leads, Linkedin inbox mails, etc.)
(incidentally I'm guessing a lot of HN users probably have half a dozen chrome extensions for SEO, screen grabbing, debugging, etc. from unverified sources which have access to far more information than just your email credentials)