All Twitter users can now delete followers without having to block them. The feature is currently available to all Twitter users on the web. But no word on when it will be available for the app. To remove someone, go to your profile and click ‘Followers.’ Click the three dots next to their name and then select ‘Remove this follower.’
This action will remove the user from your followers without notifying them. Though the account can still follow you in the future, according to Twitter. The account will no longer be able to see your tweets in their timeline after being removed. But they will still be able to send direct messages.
Why do we need a way to remove follower?
The ability to remove is part of Twitter’s larger effort to not only stifle trolls, but also to allow users to better curate their own experience on the social media platform.
Last month, a new protection mode feature became available to tester. It’s an algorithm that identifies accounts that send abuse or repeated mentions to other users and automatically blocks them for seven days. For more details read: Twitter brings Safety Mode that autoblocks abusive accounts.
While users may want to outright block other accounts that are harassing them online. Ability to remove followers, or ‘soft block’ them, may be a way to create a safe space for yourself online. It restricts who can see your tweets in their feed. And it also helps to avoid the conflict that a hard block can cause.
Given the recent Wall Street Journal report that Facebook is aware of Instagram’s negative impact on teen mental health, there should be a strong emphasis on how social media platforms can better help, rather than harm, their audiences.
The ability to remove followers is minor and long overdue, but it is nonetheless a step in the right direction.