What Happens When You Remove a Follower on TikTok
If you want to remove a follower on TikTok, the process is simple. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap on “Followers” at the top of the screen to see your full list of followers. Locate the follower you want to remove and tap on the three dots next to their name. This will open a menu – select “Remove this follower” to remove them.
Once you remove a follower, they will no longer see your content in their For You feed and won’t get notifications about your new videos or when you go live. However, the removed follower can still view your profile and content by directly visiting your profile page (source). So your content doesn’t completely disappear for them.
Removing a follower has no impact on your overall follower count or profile stats. It only affects that specific user’s ability to passively see your content. Your videos will still be visible and recommended to other followers and viewers as normal. The goal is usually to prune followers who aren’t actively engaging with your content anyway.
How to Remove a Follower on TikTok
Removing a follower on TikTok is a simple process that can be done right from your profile. Here are the steps:
First, open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner. This will take you to your profile page.
Next, tap on the “Followers” count below your profile photo and username. This will open up your full list of followers.
To remove a follower, find their name in your followers list and tap on the three dots menu next to their username. From this menu, select “Remove this follower” to unfollow them.
According to TikTok’s support page, removing a follower will immediately delete them from your follower list and prevent them from seeing your private videos or finding your profile in searches.
Does the Follower Get Notified?
When you remove a follower on TikTok, the follower does not receive any notification that they have been removed from your followers list (1). There are no in-app alerts, emails, or messages sent to the user indicating you have removed them as a follower.
TikTok’s process for removing followers is designed to be discrete. The platform does not proactively notify users when they are removed in order to protect privacy and prevent potential harassment (2). Users are only made aware if they attempt to return to your profile and notice they can no longer access it as a follower.
The lack of notifications also applies if you remove a follower that you are also following. Even if you unfollow someone who still follows you, TikTok will not alert them of your actions (3). The platform’s main priority is allowing users to curate their own followers lists without notifying other users.
Overall, you can remove followers with confidence knowing that the user will not be alerted. TikTok’s system is designed to avoid awkward social situations that could arise from follower removal notifications. The process happens discreetly behind the scenes without any alerts to the follower.
What the Removed Follower Sees
When you remove a follower on TikTok, your account will look completely normal to them. They can still view your profile, see your videos and photos, and interact with your content just like any other user on TikTok.
The only difference is that your new videos will no longer show up in their “Following” feed. So they won’t get notifications when you post new content. But they can still manually visit your profile at any time to see your latest updates.
According to TikTok’s newsroom, “When a user is removed from your followers, your videos will not appear in their “Following” feed.” So removing them stops your content from automatically appearing for them.
Other than not seeing your posts in their feed, it will seem like they are still following you normally. The only way to fully block a follower from accessing your account is to also block them. This prevents them from viewing your profile or content at all.
Impact on Your TikTok Profile
When you remove a follower on TikTok, the most direct impact is that your overall follower count displayed on your profile will decrease by one. According to TikTok experts, removing a follower does not affect the visibility of your content or your placement in the recommendation algorithm in any significant way (https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-algorithm/).
Beyond the follower number itself going down, there are no other changes made directly to your TikTok account when you remove a follower. Your profile, settings, content, and anything else tied to your account will remain unaffected. The only potential shift might be in your analytics, where metrics like follower growth rate may fluctuate slightly if you remove multiple followers in a short time period.
Overall, removing a follower has a very limited impact on your broader TikTok presence and profile. It simply deducts one from your total follower count, which is mostly a cosmetic change. TikTok’s mysterious algorithm seems to put much more weight on factors like engagement and video quality than follower numbers when determining content visibility and recommendations.
Your Content Visibility
Removing a follower does not affect how your content spreads on TikTok. Your videos can still appear on their ‘For You’ page, even if they are no longer following you.
TikTok’s recommendation algorithm is designed to show users content that they may find interesting or engaging, regardless of whether they follow the creator or not. The ‘For You’ page recommend videos based on a user’s interactions, not just the people they follow.
So if the removed follower’s viewing habits, likes, shares, and other interactions indicate they may be interested in your content, your videos may still be recommended on their ‘For You’ page. Removing them as a follower does not prevent your content from potentially reaching them.
The key factors that influence the spread and visibility of your content are the quality of the videos, audience engagement metrics, and whether it aligns with user viewing preferences. Having followers is secondary to these primary algorithmic factors.
In summary, removing a follower should not have a direct impact on your content reach or visibility to that particular user if your content resonates with their interests.
Removing Problematic Followers
TikTok gives users the ability to remove and block followers in order to avoid unwanted interactions and harassment. It is a good idea to remove any follower showing questionable activity or sending unwanted messages.
Some signs of suspicious or problematic followers include:
- Spam comments promoting products or websites
- Obvious bot or fake accounts
- Strangers sending unsolicited messages
- Use of offensive or harassing language
- Repeatedly breaking community guidelines
If you notice any of these red flags, you can remove the user by going to their profile, tapping the three dots in the upper right corner, and selecting “Remove this follower.” This will instantly unfollow and block them from interacting with your account.
Removing suspicious followers proactively can prevent future harassment, keep your comments section clean, and ensure your account only engages with real fans. It’s a good habit to routinely audit your followers list and prune any followers exhibiting questionable behavior. This promotes a positive environment and maximizes the quality of your audience.
Increasing Your Follower Quality
Removing followers can help increase your follower quality by focusing on engaged followers, pruning inactive ones, and building a more dedicated audience.
Followers who like, comment on, share, and save your content are considered engaged. These followers are more likely to see your future posts because of TikTok’s algorithm.1 Pruning inactive followers leaves room for your content to reach those who actively appreciate it.
Inactive followers are those who followed you some time ago but are not engaging with your current content. Periodically removing these followers clears out accounts that likely don’t care about your posts anymore.2 This helps build a dedicated audience that’s more invested in your niche.
Having followers who genuinely enjoy your content can boost your TikTok profile. Their engagement helps surface your posts and exposes you to a targeted audience. Removing disengaged followers clarifies your niche and improves the experience for your ideal viewers.
Potential Downsides
While removing followers can have some benefits, there are also some potential downsides to consider:
Lower follower count could seem less influential – Having a high follower count is often seen as a signal of influence and authority on TikTok. Removing a large number of followers at once could suddenly drop your follower count, which could make your profile seem less popular or influential to new viewers.
Be careful of mass follower removal – TikTok may flag accounts that suddenly lose a dramatic number of followers in a short period of time. While removing a few problematic followers likely won’t cause any issues, a mass purge of your followers list could potentially risk your account being flagged by TikTok.
Consider impacts on discoverability – The TikTok algorithm factors your number of followers into account when recommending content to users. Having fewer followers could impact your discoverability and reach. However, this impact may be negligible if you are strategic in pruning only low-quality followers.
Key Takeaways
When you remove a follower on TikTok, that follower does not receive any notification that they have been unfollowed or removed from your followers list. Your removed follower will simply no longer see your newly posted content in their Following feed unless they directly visit your profile.
It’s generally advisable to remove followers who seem fake, inactive, or who often post negative comments. Curating your followers list can help increase the quality of your audience and improve your overall TikTok experience. However, be careful not to go overboard removing followers, as it could backfire if noticed by real fans.
The main takeaways around removing TikTok followers are:
- No notifications are sent when you remove a follower
- Your content visibility can decrease to removed followers
- Focus on removing fake, inactive, or toxic followers
- Avoid removing too many real followers at once
- Curate your followers list for higher quality
Being strategic about pruning your followers can lead to a more engaged audience and positive environment on your TikTok account.
