How to Remove Twitter Followers You Don‘t Want Seeing Your Tweets

Has your Twitter account ever attracted an abusive follower? Or maybe a spam bot that won‘t stop clogging up your notifications? Annoying followers that derail your Twitter experience are unfortunately common.

The good news? You have options to remove disruptive followers on Twitter and regain control of your account.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain how Twitter‘s recent "remove follower" feature works. You‘ll learn how to cleanly stop unwanted accounts from seeing your tweets both on desktop and mobile. I‘ll also cover the stronger alternative – outright blocking toxic followers.

Let‘s start with why pruning annoying followers is so important for your mental health and online safety.

The Growing Problem of Toxic Twitter Followers

Social media connects us to friends, family, and like-minded communities. But it can also enable harassment from abusive strangers and bots.

A staggering 37% of Twitter users have experienced some form of online abuse or harassment, according to Amnesty International‘s 2020 report on toxic Twitter. Unwanted direct messages, doxxing threats, hate raid mob attacks – no platform is immune.

And research by Ofcom indicates that 1 in 5 internet users aged 18-34 have had stressful or troubling interactions online. This disproportionately affects women and minorities already facing discrimination in the real world.

Without the right tools to remove abusive followers, Twitter users are forced to either endure the hurtful tweets and DMs or deactivate their account entirely. Unfortunately, that allows the harassers to "win" and further silence voices.

Twitter‘s Remove Follower Option Offers Needed Relief

For years, users relied on "soft blocking" to manually stop a harassing follower from seeing tweets without them realizing they‘ve been blocked. This involved the clunky process of blocking a user, then immediately unblocking them.

Finally in 2021, Twitter introduced the official remove follower feature – a major win for user safety and privacy controls.

The remove follower function allows you to silently eliminate disruptive followers without drama or confrontation. They simply no longer see your tweets on their timeline.

Having granular control to prune your followers list directly combats online harassment campaigns. You can eliminate a troubling user quickly without disrupting your whole account.

In the rest of this guide, I‘ll demonstrate how to leverage Twitter‘s remove follower option to take back control of your digital space.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Twitter Followers

You have two options to stop a follower from seeing your tweets or interacting further:

1. Remove the follower – They no longer follow you or see tweets, but can still view your public profile
2. Block the follower – Completely severs the connection so they can‘t follow or access your profile

Let‘s go through the straightforward processes for both methods.

Remove Annoying Followers via Twitter Website

Here is a step-by-step walkthrough to remove a problematic follower from Twitter on your desktop browser:

Step 1) Pull up your Twitter profile page

First head to Twitter.com and log into your account. Then click on your profile icon in the left sidebar and select "Profile" to view your public page.

Step 2) Access your full followers list

Scroll below your bio section and locate the "Followers" link indicating how many total followers you have. Click this to display your full list of current followers.

Having the full names and handles visible makes it easy to identify followers you want gone.

Step 3) Locate the problem follower and access the menu

Browse your followers list and click on the three dots icon to the right of your unwanted follower‘s handle. This opens a dropdown menu.

Tip: Using CTRL + F to search the page for their @ handle makes finding them faster.

Step 4) Select the "Remove this follower" option

Simply click on the "Remove this follower @theirhandle" menu item.

Step 5) Confirm you want to remove them

A pop-up will ask you to confirm. Click the "Remove" button to complete deleting them from your followers.

And that‘s it – you‘ve smoothly removed an irritating follower without any public confrontation.

One limitation is you can only remove one follower at a time through the website. Still, it only takes seconds to manually prune multiple unwanted followers.

Remove Followers Through Twitter Mobile Browser

If accessing Twitter on your iOS or Android device, you‘ll need to use the mobile browser rather than the app to remove followers.

Here is the process:

Step 1) Open your device‘s browser and log into Twitter

You can use Safari, Chrome etc. The key is avoiding Twitter‘s native apps.

Step 2) Navigate to your public profile page

Tap the profile icon on the top left corner, then select your follower count to access your full list.

Step 3) Locate the problematic follower

Scroll to find the user you want to remove from seeing your tweets.

Step 4) Tap the three dots icon next to their handle

Step 5) Choose "Remove this follower @theirhandle"

Step 6) Confirm removing them

And now that irritating follower will no longer access your tweets or engage with you on the platform. Just repeat the process to remove additional followers as needed.

The processes are nearly identical. The only key difference is needing to utilize a mobile browser rather than Twitter‘s apps.

Now let‘s examine the more severe approach of outright blocking unwanted followers.

Step-by-Step Guide to Blocking Followers on Twitter

Blocking a follower instantly cuts all ties – they are removed as a follower, and can no longer access your tweets or profile. You also cannot see anything they post. It is the most complete way to end an online connection.

Block Harassing Followers on Desktop

Here are the simple steps to block followers via Twitter on your laptop or computer:

Step 1) Head to your followers list

Click your profile icon > Followers just like before.

Step 2) Identify the user you want to block

Scan the list for whichever account has been harassing you or posting inappropriate content.

Step 3) Click the three dots icon next to their handle

Step 4) Select "Block @theirusername" on the menu

This option only appears once they are already following you.

Step 5) Confirm you want to block them

A warning message appears saying this will remove the user as a follower, mute them, and add them to your blocked accounts list. Click "Block" to proceed.

And done! That follower is now entirely blocked from your account. Unlike just removing them, blocking ensures they cannot refollow you in the future.

Blocking Annoying Followers via Twitter Mobile App

If accessing Twitter on iPhone or Android, you can block followers directly inside the Twitter app:

Step 1) Tap your profile icon then choose Followers

Just like accessing your followers list before.

Step 2) Locate the harassing account‘s handle

Step 3) Tap the three dots icon next to their name

Step 4) Select "Block @theirhandle"

Step 5) Confirm blocking them

The account is now fully blocked on mobile as well. They will see an error message if attempting to refollow.

Key Difference: You cannot block followers using the Twitter mobile or desktop apps – a browser is required.

Why You Should Regularly Prune Your Twitter Followers

Maintaining your online social circles requires just as much curation as real-world relationships.

Taking a few minutes periodically to remove or block toxic followers isn‘t just about defending yourself in the moment. It‘s an investment in your long-term mental health.

Each day millions of social media users brave harassment and abuse purely for sharing their perspectives. The trauma of hateful speech and cyberbullying causes anxiety and depression over time.

International human rights organization Article 19 confirms that women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ groups tend to be disproportionately targeted both online and offline with discrimination, threats, and violence meant to silence them.

Simply for being who they are.

Unfortunately hate spreads easily on social networks like Twitter where abusers can directly interact with marginalized groups while protected by anonymity.

The Psychological Effects of Online Harassment

Multiple studies on cyberharassment‘s emotional impact found:

• 85% of targets reported stress, anxiety, panic attacks or depression
• 50% felt forced to alter their online presence after being harassed
• 20% abandoned social media platforms due to victimization

Cultivating your social media followers directly counters these detrimental effects by restoring control and safety in your digital spaces.

Seeing fewer hateful replies limits potential trauma triggers. Restricting abusive users from contacting you reduces anxiety. And conveniently removing or blocking harassers prevents escalation.

In short, proactively pruning your Twitter connections aids positive mental health.

Fewer abusers in your notifications means more peace of mind.

How To Stay Safer on Twitter Going Forward

Beyond addressing individual toxic followers, what else can you do to avoid online harassment situations?

Protecting your mental health on Twitter requires ongoing digital safety vigilance with these smart strategies:

🔒 Utilize locked accounts – Keep your tweets private and your digital spaces invite-only. Never share personal details publicly.

💬Restrict chat requests – Disable open DMs to limit contact from abusive strangers.

🪪 Leverage tweet blocklists – Prevent content from hate groups or bots from ever reaching you.

👮‍♀️ Report severe threats – Document harassment campaigns aimed at silencing you and notify Twitter.

🧘‍♀️Practice self-care to process trauma – Recognize the impact abusive experiences have and make time for emotional healing.

The bottom line? You deserve to feel safe sharing your authentic self online. Arm yourself with all available tools to take back control.

Let‘s Recap – How to Remove or Block Annoying Twitter Followers

Dealing with toxic or harassing Twitter followers is unfortunately common, but you‘re not powerless.

This guide walked through utilizing Twitter‘s remove follower option to discreetly eliminate disruptive accounts from your followers list and notifications.

We also covered outright blocking abusive followers to permanently sever all access to your account. Restricting harassers is essential for your mental wellbeing.

Here are the key takeaways:

🔸 Know you have every right to remove people bringing negativity into your online spaces. You get to choose who interacts with you.

🔸 Regularly check your Twitter notifications and followers list for concerning behavior. Address issues immediately before they spiral.

🔸 Follow the simple step-by-step directions to remove or block followers from desktop or mobile browsers.

🔸 Combining safety tools with self-care habits will help you reclaim control after being targeted.

You deserve positive social media spaces where you can connect with community support free from harassment. Follow these guidelines for keeping your Twitter account healthy!

Please reach out on Twitter @myhandle if you have any other questions.