Having too many followers on social media can be overwhelming for some users. While gaining a large following is seen as positive by many, others prefer to keep their online presence more intimate. If you find yourself wanting to prune your list of followers, here are some tips on how to remove followers on popular platforms.
Why Would You Want to Remove Followers?
There are a few main reasons why someone may want to remove some of their followers:
- To create a more curated, intimate social media presence. Having thousands of followers you don’t know personally can feel impersonal.
- To remove bot or spam accounts that follow you. These accounts can clutter up your follower list.
- To take a break from someone you know. Rather than blocking them, removing them as a follower lets you take space without confrontation.
- To remove followers who post negative or abusive content. You don’t have to put up with offensive comments and harassment.
Removing followers allows you to shape your social media presence into what you want it to be. It can help create boundaries and let you focus on more meaningful interactions.
How to Remove Followers on Instagram
Instagram currently does not have a straightforward way to mass remove followers. However, you can manually go through your followers list and remove accounts one by one. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile page
- Tap “Followers” to view your full followers list
- Tap the three dots next to a follower’s name
- Select “Remove this follower”
- Tap “Remove”
While this method allows you to curate your followers, it can be extremely time consuming if done manually on accounts with thousands of followers. Some third-party apps exist to automate the process, but use caution as these violate Instagram’s terms of service.
Other Ways to Prune Followers on Instagram
In addition to manually removing followers, here are a couple other approaches:
- Go private. Your current followers will remain, but no one new can follow you without approval.
- Take a break. Temporarily disabling your account will cause you to lose all followers. When you reactivate it, you can start fresh.
Both of these methods allow you to do a reset on your account more easily than removing each person manually.
Removing Twitter Followers
Twitter provides a couple straightforward ways to remove followers from your account. Here are two options:
Remove Followers Individually
- Go to your profile page
- Click “Followers” to see your full followers list
- Click the three dots icon next to a follower’s name
- Select “Remove this follower”
- Confirm by clicking “Remove”
This works the same as manually removing followers on Instagram. It allows precision but can be time consuming.
Remove Followers in Bulk
Twitter also gives you the option to remove multiple followers at once through keyword-based filtering:
- Go to your profile page
- Click “Followers”
- At the top, click “Filter by keywords”
- Enter keywords associated with accounts you want to remove
- Preview the list of filtered followers
- Click “Remove” to remove all of them at once
This allows you to remove large swaths of followers matching certain criteria, like location, interests, or specific words in their name. Use judiciously!
How to Remove Friends on Facebook
Facebook uses the term “friends” instead of followers. Here’s how to remove friends from your Facebook account:
- Go to your profile page
- Click “Friends” in the left sidebar
- Scroll through your friends list and click the “Friends” button next to names
- Choose “Unfriend” to remove them
As with other platforms, this allows you to manually curate your friends list one by one. However, Facebook does not have bulk removal options.
Other Facebook Friend Removal Options
If you want to do a more sweeping reset of your Facebook friends, here are a couple options:
- Deactivate your account – This removes all friends temporarily
- Make a new account – Lets you start fresh with no friends
For many people, these blanket removal tactics are easier than manually unfriending hundreds of accounts.
Removing Connections on LinkedIn
On LinkedIn, you connect to other professionals rather than follow them. To remove connections:
- Go to your profile page
- Click “Connections” in left sidebar
- Scroll through connections list and click “More” next to a name
- Choose “Remove connection”
As with other platforms, this allows you to selectively prune your connections list one by one. LinkedIn does not have bulk removal options.
Removing Followers on Twitch
On the streaming platform Twitch, your followers are displayed publicly and account for your influence. To remove Twitch followers:
- Go to your Channel Page
- Click “See all” under Followers in the right sidebar
- Hover over any follower’s name and click the gear icon
- Select “Unfollow [name]”
As with other sites, you can remove followers individually. Twitch does not offer any bulk options for removing multiple followers at once.
How to Remove Subscribers on YouTube
YouTube lets viewers “subscribe” to channels to follow new video releases. To remove subscribers:
- Sign in and go to your channel page
- Click “Subscribers” under Stats in the right sidebar
- Click the three dots next to a subscriber’s name
- Select “Hide user from channel”
- Choose “Hide user”
This will unsubscribe and remove that user from your subscribers list. As with other platforms, only individual removal is available.
Removing Followers on Pinterest
On the visual social platform Pinterest, you can unfollow boards that you no longer want updates from. To remove followers:
- Go to your profile page
- Click “Followers” in the left sidebar
- Click the three dots next to a follower’s name
- Select “Unfollow [name]”
- Confirm by clicking “Unfollow”
This removes them as a follower of your account’s boards. Pinterest does not have a bulk unfollow option.
How to Remove Followers on TikTok
TikTok is centered around short viral videos. To remove followers on TikTok:
- Go to your profile page
- Tap the Followers number
- Tap the three dots next to a follower’s name
- Select “Remove this follower”
- Confirm by tapping “Remove”
As with other platforms, only individual removal is currently available on TikTok.
Strategies for Removing Large Numbers of Followers
For accounts with thousands or even millions of followers, removing them manually is unrealistic. Here are some strategies for large-scale follower removal:
- Announce you’re taking a break from the platform and will be starting fresh when you return. This prompts unfollows.
- Temporarily make your profile private if the platform allows it. Followers will be removed.
- Delete and recreate your account. You’ll lose all followers at once.
- Engage very little. Follower counts drop when you stop posting and interacting.
- Add another more private account for closer friends and start migrating there.
While not instant, these strategies leverage social cues and gradual shifts to effectively remove a sizable portion of your followers.
Things to Keep in Mind When Removing Followers
If you’re looking to remove a large amount of followers from your social media accounts, keep these considerations in mind:
- Removing many followers quickly can appear suspicious to social platforms.
- Follower removal apps violate most platforms’ terms of service.
- Prominent accounts often cannot remove followers without backlash.
- Focus on growing a small community you really value over a large meaningless following.
- Consider starting fresh on new accounts and migrating your audience slowly.
While removing followers can provide relief from unwelcome interactions, use caution in doing so, especially if you have an audience that knows you. A gradual, intentional approach tends to work best.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you tell if someone removed you as a follower on Instagram?
No, Instagram does not notify users when they have been removed as a follower. The only way to know is to check if you are still following that account.
Does removing followers on Twitter unfollow them?
No, removing a follower only removes them from following you. It does not automatically make you unfollow them in return. You can still visit their profile and see their tweets unless you block them.
What happens when you remove a friend on Facebook?
When you remove or unfriend someone on Facebook, you will no longer see their posts or activities. They are immediately removed from your friends list and can no longer see your private content.
Can someone on LinkedIn tell if you removed them as a connection?
No, LinkedIn does not notify users if they have been removed as a connection. The only way for them to know is if they try to view your profile and get an error message.
Is it bad to remove followers on social media?
Removing followers is not inherently bad. It allows you to curate your social media presence. However, abruptly mass removing followers without explanation can appear suspicious and alienate your audience.
Conclusion
Removing social media followers can provide relief from unwelcome interactions and create a more intimate, curated online presence. Each major platform has options to delete followers individually, with some offering bulk removal features as well. When pruning followers, be gradual and strategic to avoid backlash, especially if you have a large audience. Focus on cultivating meaningful connections with those who bring value to your social experience.