Twitter tests a ‘Remove this follower’ button without actually blocking them

Blocking someone on any social media platform could lead to awkward situations. The good news is Twitter is testing a new feature that would allow users to remove a follower without them knowing.

Twitter announced the experimental feature on its official support page on Tuesday. “We're making it easier to be the curator of your own followers list,” the company said. “Now testing on web: remove a follower without blocking them.”

According to a sample image Twitter shared, the feature will be accessible through the three-dot icon placed on every user’s tile in the Followers list. It will display several options, including a “Remove this follower” button.

Once users choose to remove a follower, a pop-up prompt will appear explaining how the new Twitter feature works. The message reads, “[Twitter user] will be removed from your followers list and won’t be notified by Twitter.” That means any future tweets will no longer appear on the timeline of the removed follower.

This is already different from outright blocking someone. When a person is blocked, they will eventually learn of the situation once they open the profile page of the one who blocked them. In terms of avoiding offending someone or an awkward situation, the in-testing “Remove this follower” button could be a helpful option, while also offering a way for users to filter who can read their posts.

However, the feature does not permanently prevent someone from reading a Twitter user’s posts. Because the function merely removes a person from the Followers list, that means they can still visit and follow the person who removed them in the future. While the “Remove this follower” button appears like a good solution, an option to hide tweets from certain followers might be an easier and more helpful feature.

It can be recalled that Twitter has also started testing new privacy features in July. The company announced the possibility of adding a “Trusted Friends” list. Like Instagram’s “Close Friends” feature, it would allow users to create a list of followers who can later view certain tweets that will not be available for the rest of the followers.

Photo by Solen Feyissa from Pexels