But you don’t need to take such a harsh decision. You can simply remove them from your followers list. Blocking someone is one way to remove that person as your follower. However, blocking doesn’t seem a sensible choice always as it comes with its drawbacks. Such as you won’t be able to see their profile too or message them. Fortunately, you can remove someone as your follower without going through the repercussion of blocking. Let’s see what happens when you decide to remove someone on Instagram.
What It Means by Removing Someone as a Follower
Unlike Facebook, where adding a friend is a two-way street, following someone on Instagram is a one-way path. Meaning, when you follow someone, it doesn’t create a mutual connection. Only you can see their posts. They need to follow you back to see your posts. Similarly, if someone follows you, it’s not necessary for you to follow them back so that they can view your posts. If you don’t want someone to view your posts, you can remove them as your follower by the native feature provided by Instagram. And when you do so, that person will have to follow you back to view your posts.
Can the Removed Person See Your Posts and Stories
That depends on the fact whether your profile is private or public. If you have a private account and you remove a follower, then the person will not be able to see your old or new posts and stories. That’s because your profile is locked now. That person will have to send a follow request again. The choice then lies in your hand. You can either accept, decline, or let it stay untouched. When you choose the former, the person will regain access to your Instagram profile. However, if you decline or don’t take any action on it, then your posts will remain hidden from them. On the other hand, if you have a public profile, the person won’t get your posts and stories directly on their feed. But, that person can open your Instagram profile by searching your username and then check the posts and stories without following you.
Does Removing a Follower Send a Notification
No. When you remove a follower, Instagram doesn’t notify that person in any way. However, that individual might get suspicious when they start seeing no posts or stories of yours on their feed. If they open your profile and it’s a private account, the person will see a Follow button along with the text that says ‘This Account is Private. Follow the account to see their photos and videos.’ Of course, that will make things pretty obvious. Similarly, while it’s not that obvious for public accounts as the person won’t see a direct text but the Following or the Message button will be replaced by Follow or Follow back. So it depends on your luck whether the person you removed notices it or not.
What Happens to Messages
Nothing happens to messages. You can still message each other.
Can You See Their Posts
Yes. If you already follow that individual, then you can still see their posts. As mentioned before, follow is a one-way link on Instagram. So even if you remove them as your follower, it doesn’t impact anything from your end.
Can You Follow Them
In case you weren’t following the person before, you can still can. Now, if that person has a private profile, he/she needs to accept your follow request to let you view their posts. However, if it’s a public account, then you can instantly view their posts.
Can They Request to Follow You Back
Yes, anytime. Removing someone as a follower doesn’t stop that person from following you again. They can hit the Follow button to start following you again. When they do so, you will get a notification that XYZ started following you.
Can You Undo Remove a Follower on Instagram
No. You cannot add back a follower yourself that you removed from your follower list on Instagram. They will have to follow you again themselves. So, if you know them, you can ask them to follow you again.
How to Know If Someone Removed You from Followers List
Open their Instagram profile. If you see a Follow or Follow back button, it means you were removed.
How to Remove a Follower
Here are the steps for Android and iPhone: Step 1: Open your Instagram profile and tap on the Followers count present at the top. Step 2: Use the search to look for the person that you want to remove. Tap on the three-dot icon next to their name. A pop-up will open, asking you to confirm your decision to remove them. Tap on Remove.
What Happens When You Unfollow Someone
When you unfollow someone on Instagram, their posts will stop appearing on your feed. And if it’s a private profile, you will lose the right to see their posts.
When to Remove a Follower
In case someone’s likes and comments are bothering you, then you should remove them. However, it’s only going to be effective if you have a private account. As an alternative, if only comments from someone are getting on your nerves, then try the Restrict feature of Instagram. But if you no longer want to be in touch with the person in any way, then you should block them. Even though the decision to remove someone is a personal one, you should think twice before doing it. I’m saying this because it would decrease your follower count. If you are okay with that, go ahead. Next up: Do you doubt someone that they might have blocked you on Instagram? Check out 6 ways from the next link that will help you in knowing whether you are blocked or not. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.