Twitter changed to X, but the people following you didn't suddenly become more pleasant. We’ve all been there. You check your notifications and see a handle that makes your stomach drop, or maybe just a bot with a profile picture that's definitely not a real human. You need to know how to remove a follower on X before they start cluttering your mentions or, worse, sliding into your DMs with crypto scams. It used to be a whole "block and unblock" dance. Total pain. Now? It’s basically a two-click operation if you know where to look.
Social media is loud. Sometimes you just want to turn the volume down on specific people without starting a digital war.
The Soft Block is Finally Official
For years, power users relied on the "soft block." You'd block someone and immediately unblock them. This forced their account to unfollow you without them getting a notification that they were banned from your page. It was a clever workaround. Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform brought plenty of chaos, but one of the few genuinely useful tweaks was making this a native feature. You don't have to do the back-and-forth dance anymore.
To prune your list on the web version, go to your profile. Click on your followers count. See those three little dots (the "more" icon) next to the Follow button on their profile card? Hit that. You’ll see an option that says "Remove this follower."
Done.
They aren't blocked. They can still see your public posts if they go looking for them. But your tweets—sorry, "posts"—won't show up in their home timeline anymore. It’s the digital equivalent of quietly exiting a room while someone is mid-sentence.
Why the Mobile App is Different
Kinda weirdly, the mobile app (iOS and Android) doesn't always show the "Remove this follower" option in the same spot as the desktop site. If you're on your phone and can't find that specific button, you might have to go the old-school route or open X in a mobile browser.
I’ve noticed that X updates their UI almost weekly. One day the button is there; the next, it’s buried under a sub-menu. If you’re looking at their actual profile page on mobile, tap the three dots in the top right corner. If "Remove this follower" isn't there, you’re stuck with the Block/Unblock method or the Block-Forever method.
When Removing Isn't Enough: The Case for Blocking
Sometimes a soft removal is like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. If someone is harassing you, a simple removal won't stop them from just hitting "Follow" again five minutes later. They won't even know you removed them until they realize they aren't seeing your updates.
Blocking is different.
When you block, they can't see your posts, they can't tag you, and they can't follow you. It’s a hard wall. According to X’s own safety documentation, blocking is the primary way to deal with targeted harassment. However, there’s been a lot of talk from the top brass at X about "deleting" the block feature or turning it into a "super-mute." As of right now, in early 2026, the block still exists in its traditional form, but its future is always a bit shaky in the current dev cycle.
If you're dealing with a bot, don't just remove. Report and block. X's algorithm uses those reports to train its spam filters. By reporting that "Elon Musk Crypto Giveway" bot before removing it, you're actually helping the rest of us out.
Why Your Follower Count Actually Matters
People get weirdly attached to their follower count. It’s a vanity metric. Honestly, having 5,000 followers doesn't mean much if 2,000 of them are dead accounts or bots from 2018. Cleaning your list actually helps your engagement rate.
Think about it this way.
When you post, X shows that content to a small percentage of your followers. If those followers are bots or people who don't care about your content, they won't interact. X sees the lack of interaction and thinks, "Wow, this post must suck," and stops showing it to more people. By knowing how to remove a follower on X who is dragging down your stats, you’re actually boosting your own reach. Quality over quantity. Always.
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The "Private Account" Strategy
If you're constantly removing people, maybe it's time to go private. Locking your account (the little padlock icon) means nobody can follow you without a manual "Yes" from you.
- Go to Settings.
- Privacy and Safety.
- Audience and Tagging.
- Toggle on "Protect your posts."
This is the nuclear option for privacy. It changes the way you use the platform. You won't go viral, because people can't retweet—pardon me, "repost"—your stuff to a wider audience. But the peace of mind? It's huge. No more random creeps. No more bots. Just the people you actually want to talk to.
Managing the Fallout
What happens if they notice?
Usually, they don't. Most people follow so many accounts that they won't realize you're missing from their feed for weeks. If they do notice and ask why they aren't following you anymore, you can always blame "the glitchy X algorithm." It’s a believable excuse because, let's be real, the site is often glitchy.
If you’re removing an ex, a former coworker, or that one person from high school who keeps posting pyramid schemes, you don't owe them an explanation. Your digital space is yours.
The Technical Reality of Mass Removal
If you have thousands of followers and you're trying to clean house, doing it one by one is going to give you carpal tunnel. There are third-party tools like Circleboom or Fedica that can help identify "inactive" or "spam" followers.
Be careful here.
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X has been very aggressive about revoking API access for third-party apps. If you give a random website access to your account to "clean your followers," you're handing over the keys to your digital house. I’ve seen people use these tools only to have their accounts hacked or flagged for "automated behavior." If you use a tool, make sure it’s a reputable one that doesn't violate X's Terms of Service. Personally? I prefer the manual "do 10 a day" approach. It's safer and ensures you don't accidentally delete your mom or your boss.
Identifying the Dead Weight
How do you know who to kick out? Look for these red flags:
- No profile picture (the default "egg" or silhouette).
- Handles that are just a string of random numbers (e.g., @John123847563).
- Accounts that haven't posted since 2021.
- People who only repost "Giveaway" tweets.
These accounts add zero value to your experience. They are just numbers. And on a platform that is increasingly leaning into "verified" (paid) accounts, these unverified ghost accounts are becoming less and less relevant anyway.
Taking Action Today
If you want to clean up your profile right now, start with the low-hanging fruit. Open your follower list on a computer—it’s much faster than the app. Scroll down and look for those accounts with no bios and no photos. Use the "Remove this follower" feature on the ones that look like bots.
If there's someone specific you're trying to avoid, just remember that removing them is a "soft" move. It's polite. It's subtle. But if they're persistent, don't be afraid of the block button. It’s there for a reason. You aren't being mean; you're just curating your environment.
The next step is to audit your "Following" list too. If you follow 2,000 people, you're likely seeing a lot of junk. Unfollow the accounts that make you annoyed or angry. Your feed should be useful or entertaining, not a source of stress. Once you've removed the followers you don't want and unfollowed the accounts that don't serve you, your X experience will feel a lot more like the early days of the internet—actually fun.
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Check your privacy settings once a month. X likes to reset things or add new "features" that share your data by default. Keeping your follower list tight is only half the battle; keeping your data secure is the other half.