How can I hide my follow list?

Having control over who can see your followers list on social media can be an important part of maintaining your privacy online. Here are some tips on how to hide or limit access to your followers list on popular social media platforms.

Why You Might Want to Hide Your Followers

There are a few key reasons why someone may want to hide or limit access to their followers list:

• Avoid unwanted attention or spam from people who can see your followers.
• Protect your followers’ privacy by hiding the list of accounts that follow you.
• Prevent competitors or critics from targeting your followers.
• Hide an account you follow for personal reasons but don’t want public.

While followers lists are public by default on most social platforms, you may have personal, professional, or safety reasons to limit access.

How to Hide Your Followers on Instagram

Instagram lets you completely hide your followers list from anyone who visits your profile. Here’s how:

1. Go to your profile and tap the three line menu in the top right.
2. Tap “Settings” then scroll down and tap “Privacy.”
3. Tap “Follower List” and select “Only Me.”

This will remove the followers tab and count from your profile so no one can browse the list. You can toggle it back to public at any time.

Other Instagram Follower Hiding Options

In addition to hiding your entire followers list, Instagram offers some other privacy options:

• Hide your story from followers: Add specific followers to your “Restricted List” so they can’t view your story.
• Remove a follower: Tap the three dots next to a follower’s name, then select “Remove follower” to block them from seeing your profile.
• Block accounts: Completely block other accounts from interacting with you or seeing your profile and posts.

How to Hide Your Followers on Twitter

Like Instagram, Twitter offers options to hide your followers list or block/mute other accounts:

1. On the web, click your profile icon then “Settings and privacy.”
2. Click “Privacy and safety” then “Audience and tagging.”
3. Under “Photo tagging,” uncheck “Allow everyone to tag you.”
4. Under “Tweet privacy,” check “Protect your Tweets.”

This will prevent anyone else from tagging you in photos or seeing your tweets unless you approve them as followers. Similar mobile settings are under “Privacy and safety.”

Other Twitter Follower Hiding Options

• Remove a follower: Click the Followers list then “…” next to a follower’s name and select “Remove this follower.”
• Block accounts from following you: Click “Blocked accounts” under Settings to block specific users.
• Disable your DMs: Restrict who can send you Direct Messages under Settings > Privacy and safety > Direct Messages.

How to Hide Your Followers on Facebook

Facebook makes it easy to hide your entire followers list:

1. Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & privacy.”
2. Click “Settings” then “Privacy.”
3. Under “How people can find and contact you,” disable “Who can follow me.”

This removes the followers list from your profile. You can also restrict old posts and profile info in the Privacy settings.

Other Facebook Follower Hiding Options

• Limit story audience: When sharing a story, choose “Custom” and hide it from specific followers.
• Restrict former friends: Use the “Limit Past Posts” setting so old connections can’t see your timeline.
• Unfollow connections: Remove followers from your news feed by unfollowing them.

How to Hide Your Subscribers on YouTube

YouTube allows creators to hide subscriber counts and restrict access to their followers list:

1. Click your profile icon > “Settings.”
2. Click “Privacy.”
3. Under “Subscribers and comments,” uncheck “Keep all my subscribers private” to hide your subscriber number.
4. Uncheck “Allow comments from” to limit commenting.

You can also block channels you don’t want contacting you under “Block users.”

Other YouTube Privacy Options

• Hide videos: Click “Visibility” in Video Manager to hide certain videos from viewers and search.
• Disable notifications: Restrict notifications under Settings > Notifications.
• Moderate comments: Hold potentially inappropriate comments for review before publishing.

How to Hide Your Followers on LinkedIn

LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to hide your entire followers list, but offers ways to limit profile views:

1. Click your profile icon and go to “Settings & privacy.”
2. Click “Privacy.”
3. Under “Profile viewing options,” select your preferences for who can view your connections and feed.

You can also individually block accounts and restrict unwanted messages.

Other LinkedIn Privacy Options

• Anonymous mode: Browse LinkedIn anonymously so others can’t see when you’ve viewed their profile.
• Limit ad targeting: Opt out of interest-based ads under “Privacy & settings.”
• Selective sharing: When making a post, limit visibility to connections only.

Hide Your Followers with a Private Account

The simplest way to hide your followers on any social platform is to make your account private. This requires manually approving each new follower request:

• Instagram: Go to Settings > Privacy > Account Privacy and enable “Private Account.”
• Twitter: Go to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Protect your Tweets and check “Private account.”
• Facebook: Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy and enable “Only friends can see your future posts.”
• YouTube: Upload your videos privately then toggle “Keep all my videos private” under Settings > Privacy.

Going private limits your audience but ensures complete control over your followers list and profile visibility.

Use Third-Party Apps to Manage Followers

In addition to built-in settings, third-party social media management apps can help you analyze and control your followers list:

• Iconosquare: Track Instagram analytics and manage notifications.
• Crowdfire: Identify influencers and inactive followers.
• Social Rank: Provides filters to sort followers by relevance.
• Sprout Social: Allows scheduling posts and grouping followers.

Check the app permissions and features to find one that fits your follower management needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hide my followers on Instagram?

Yes, Instagram provides an option to make your followers list private so it is not viewable on your profile. Go to Settings > Privacy > Follower List and select “Only Me.” Your follower count will be hidden.

Is there a way to hide my Twitter followers?

Twitter doesn’t let you fully hide your followers list, but you can make your account private so only approved followers see your tweets. Go to Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Protect your Tweets and check the “Private account” box.

How do I remove followers on Facebook?

There are a couple ways to remove Facebook followers:

• Unfriend or block accounts to stop them seeing your profile.
• Restrict old friends using the Limit Past Posts setting under Privacy.
• Disable followers by turning off the “Follow” button under Settings & Privacy > Settings.

Can I hide my YouTube subscribers?

YouTube creators can hide their total subscriber number by going to Settings > Privacy and toggling the “Keep all my subscribers private” option. You can also block subscribers and make videos private.

Is there a way to hide my LinkedIn followers?

LinkedIn doesn’t allow fully hiding your followers. But under Settings & Privacy > Privacy, you can limit profile viewing and customize who can see your connections and posts.

The Takeaway

Managing your social media followers list helps balance your privacy and personal connections. Use built-in platform settings or third-party apps to:

• Hide your followers list from public view.
• Restrict access to your posts and information.
• Block or remove unwanted followers.
• Analyze follower demographics and interests.

Test different options to find the right mix of privacy and audience reach for your personal or brand accounts.