After testing last month, Twitter is rolling out a feature to all web users that will let them remove followers without blocking them. This safety feature can be helpful if you want to avoid the repercussions of blocking someone — if a blocked user navigates to your profile after you block them, Twitter will tell them that they were blocked. But by removing a follower, users can feel more secure about who sees their tweets without blocking them altogether.
Sure, the blocked user might notice that they no longer follow you, but who knows! Maybe they clicked the unfollow button on accident! There’s some plausible deniability there that a hard block doesn’t offer.
For years, Twitter users had manufactured this “soft block” by swiftly blocking and unblocking a follower, which removes them from your follower list. But now, Twitter is making this its own feature.
rolling out to everyone on the web today👇 //t.co/Nqhhf2q2fo
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) October 11, 2021
In the tweet about the test that Twitter posted in September, the images indicated that you have to manually scroll through your follower list and find the person you want to remove before you can take them off your followers list. But now, you can also remove a follower by going to their profile, clicking the three-dot icon, and selecting the “Remove this follower” option. For particularly popular Twitter users, that makes the feature far more usable.
Unrelated to follower removals, Twitter also announced a test of a feature that would allow users to swipe on their timeline between two different feeds: one that’s sorted by Twitter’s algorithm, and one that’s chronological.
Top Tweets first or latest Tweets first? We’re making it easier to switch between the two timelines and know which one you’re scrolling.
Now testing with some of you on iOS: swipe between "Home" and "Latest" on the Home tab to choose which Tweets you see first. pic.twitter.com/LoyAN4cONu
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) October 12, 2021
Twitter already lets users switch between these two feeds, but the test comes at a time when content algorithms are at attention. When the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before the Senate last week, she said that she believes ranking content chronologically can help limit the spread of toxicity, misinformation and violent content on Facebook, which uses an algorithm that promotes content that’s more likely to spark a reaction. Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey has previously voiced support for users’ ability to choose from multiple algorithms to organize the content they see.
Twitter has been testing and implementing a baffling amount of new features lately. Not everything Twitter tests becomes a permanent fixture, but it used to be a good indication of where the company’s interests stand. But more recently, Twitter explained its strategy would include far more experimentation than in the past. That means it’s more ready to shut down projects and features that don’t work — something it already did with its Stories feature, called Fleets.
“You won’t see us stay tied to the things that aren’t working,” Twitter Head of Consumer Product Kayvon Beykpour said last month, when announcing another large round of new additions. “We believe that if we’re not winding things down every once in a while, then we’re not taking big enough bets,” he said.
Twitter is a place where there is quite often a free exchange of information, ideas, and opinions. This means that at some point, your ideas and opinions are likely to attract the unwelcome attention of individuals who decide to follow you and annoy you. If you want to get rid of them, short of getting a restraining order or changing your Twitter handle, this is how to remove those unwelcome Twitter followers.
Read more: How to make your Twitter account private
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To remove a follower on Twitter, you have the soft option and the hard option. The soft option is to manually remove them as a follower but leave open the possibility of them refollowing you in the future. The hard option is to block them permanently, which cannot be undone by anyone other than yourself. In both cases, Twitter does not notify the person they have been unfollowed or blocked.
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How to remove a follower on Twitter without blocking them
If you would rather tread lightly to begin with, and not immediately bring out the big guns by blocking them, try removing them from your account. This still enables them to see your tweets if they visit your profile page, but your tweets won’t appear in their timeline, so with some luck, they may forget about you after some time. Unfortunately, you have to do this in a desktop browser. The mobile app doesn’t let you do it.
To do a “soft unfollow,” go to your profile page and click on your followers count.
Find the pesky individual you want to unfollow and click on the three dots next to their name. In the pop-up menu, click Remove this follower. If you have lots of Twitter followers, a quicker way would be to go directly to their profile page. The three-dot menu is also there.
Mark O'Neill / Android Authority
The person will now be removed from your followers list. But since you’re not blocking them, they can refollow you if they want.
How to remove a follower on Twitter by blocking them
If you’d rather hit the nuclear button and permanently block them, repeat the process in the previous section. But instead of clicking Remove this follower, instead, click Block @Twitterusername. You will be asked to confirm your decision.
Mark O'Neill / Android Authority
To unblock them in the future, go to your block list in your account settings. Find the person you want to unblock and click the red Blocked button on the right. This will unblock the account.