How to remove followers on Twitter by blocking accounts - or by quickly blocking and unblocking them
- You can quickly remove followers on your Twitter account by blocking them.
- If you want to remove followers on Twitter without blocking them permanently, you can simply block and unblock them - this will make you both unfollow each other.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
One of the perks of having a private Twitter account is that you have the ability to control who follows you, since you can approve or reject follower requests.
But if you want to remove existing followers on Twitter, there is another option, regardless of whether you have a private or public account: Blocking users.
You can easily remove someone from your followers list by blocking them on Twitter, using the mobile app on an iPhone or Android phone, or Twitter's desktop version.
Check out the products mentioned in this article:
iPhone Xs (From $999 at Apple)
Google Pixel 3 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)
How to remove followers on Twitter by blocking them
Whether you have a public or private Twitter account, you can make it so that other users can't follow you by blocking them.
They won't get a notification about the block, but they will be able to tell if they try to visit your profile.
Here's how to block users you don't want viewing your tweets.
How to block Twitter users on a desktop computer
1. Go to twitter.com and log into your account, if necessary.
2. Navigate to your profile by clicking your name, located on the top-left side of the screen.
3. Toggle over to the followers tab.
4. Locate the user you want to block and click the three dots located in the right corner of their profile box and select "Block [username]."
5. When prompted, confirm this action by clicking the red "Block" button in the pop-up window - you won't be able to see their feed and there will now be a button that says "Blocked" in the upper-right corner of their profile.
How to block Twitter users on a mobile device
1. Open your Twitter app, login if necessary, and navigate to your profile (the steps to get there will differ slightly depending on the type of phone you have; for example, you may need to tap the profile icon on the bottom toolbar, or you may need to tap your profile picture in the top-left side of the screen and then tap "Profile").
2. Tap your follower count to see your followers.
3. Locate the user you want to block and tap on their profile.
4. Tap the three dots located in the top-right corner of the screen and select "Block."
How to remove followers on Twitter without blocking them permanently
There's one final option if you want to remove followers, but not block them permanently.
When you block someone on Twitter, you also won't be able to see their profile. However, if you block and then unblock someone, you will remove this follower without giving up access to their profile (unless they are on private, in which case, you would have to request to follow them again).
For more information on how to unblock someone on Twitter, read our article, "How to block or unblock someone on Twitter on a computer or mobile device."
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to make your Twitter account private on desktop or mobile, and choose who can see your tweets
How to unfollow a Twitter account on desktop or mobile
How to deactivate your Twitter account on an iPhone, and delete the app
How to mute keywords and phrases on Twitter (and avoid spoilers)