How to Remove Bot Followers on Twitter (X)

To remove a bot follower on X, open your followers list on x.com, click the more icon next to the account, choose Remove this follower and confirm. X's help page says this is web only, and that removing someone does not stop them from following you again if your posts are public.

That one-at-a-time removal is the only follower-removal tool X documents. For bots that keep coming back, the real fixes are blocking them and, if you can live with it, protecting your posts.

How to remove bot followers on X

To remove bot followers on X, use the Remove this follower option, which X's Following FAQs describe for the followers list and for an account's profile. Each removal is one account at a time. The same page says the option is available on web only.

1. Open x.com in a browser on a computer and sign in.
2. Open your followers list at x.com/followers.
3. Find the suspect account and click the more icon to the right of its Follow button.
4. Click Remove this follower.
5. Click Remove to confirm.

You can also do it from the account's profile: click the more icon there and choose Remove this follower. X warns that this does not prevent the account from requesting to follow you if your posts are protected, or from following you again if they are public. In practice that means removal clears a bot out today and does nothing about tomorrow.

Block a bot so it cannot come back

To stop a bot following you again, block it. X's help says you can block an account from following you: it will not be able to follow you, and you will see a blocked icon when you visit its profile. Blocking also works in the mobile app, which makes it the practical option on a phone.

X's blocking page lists what a blocked account cannot do: follow you, send you Direct Messages, add you to lists, tag you in photos, or like, reply to or repost your posts. If your posts are public, it can still see them. Blocked accounts get no notification, but they see the block if they visit your profile, which does not matter for a bot.

To remove a follower from the phone app without leaving the block in place, Unfollr describes blocking and then unblocking the account. That is a workaround, not an X feature, and once unblocked the account can follow you again.

How to spot a bot follower before you remove it

A bot follower usually looks unfinished or automated. X's authenticity policy describes the patterns it treats as fake: stock, stolen or AI-generated profile photos, copied bios and misleading profile details, plus automation that breaks its Developer Policy. Those are the same signals you can check by eye.

Where to look	Bot signal
Profile photo	Default image, stock photo or a face that appears on other accounts
Username	A name followed by a long run of random digits
Bio	Empty, or copied word for word from another profile
Posts	Almost none, or only links and replies pushing the same offer
Follow pattern	Follows thousands of accounts and has very few followers

No single row proves anything. A new real user can have an empty bio. Remove an account when two or three signals line up, and keep the verdict for accounts that actually reply to you with spam.

Filter, protect or report instead of removing

Three built-in options reduce the pile without clicking through each follower. They do different things, so pick by what is bothering you.

• Quality filter and advanced filters. X says the quality filter hides lower-quality notifications, such as duplicate posts or content that appears automated, and is on by default for new users. Advanced filters switch off notifications from accounts you do not follow that have a default profile photo, no confirmed email address or no confirmed phone number. These clean up your Notifications tab. They do not remove anyone from your followers.
• Protect your posts. With protected posts, new followers need your approval, so a bot's request waits for you to deny it. People who already followed you keep access unless you block them, so you still have to clear the existing bots yourself.
• Report spam accounts. X's reporting page covers reporting spam from a post, List or message. It also says an account that breaks policy without posting, for example by mass following large numbers of accounts, should be reported as spam. To report an account, open its profile, select the more icon, then Report, as X's abusive behavior page describes.

Protecting posts costs you reach, since only followers can see what you post, so it suits a private account better than a growing one.

Third-party bot removers: the risk

Third-party tools can remove followers in bulk, which X's own settings do not. Names that show up in search include X Bot Remover, Circleboom and Unfollr.

To work, these tools ask for access to your account, and X's authenticity policy states that you are ultimately responsible for third-party applications you authorize. X's page on protected posts adds that an authorized app may be able to see your protected posts. Before connecting one, check what permissions it asks for, whether it can post for you, and how to revoke it, and avoid any tool that asks for your password.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I keep getting bot followers on Twitter?

Because on a public account anyone can follow you without your approval. X's protected posts setting is the only built-in way to approve followers first, at the cost of hiding your posts from everyone else. Otherwise you remove or block each bot as it appears.

Can I remove followers from Twitter on my phone?

Not with the Remove this follower option, which X's help page says is web only. On a phone, the practical route is to block the account from its profile, which works in the app and stops it following you. Open x.com on a computer when you want to remove someone without blocking.

How do I remove followers on a private account?

On a protected account, new followers must be approved, so deny a bot's request and it never joins. To clear someone already following, use Remove this follower or block them. X notes that a removed person can send a new follow request, which you can deny. Protection changes who can see your posts from then on.

Is there a free way to remove bot followers on X?

Yes. Remove this follower, blocking, protected posts and the notification filters are all built into X at no cost. The trade-off is time, because removal is one account at a time. Third-party tools charge differently and ask for account access, so check their terms and revoke access when you finish.

Sources

1. X Help Center, Following FAQs
2. X Help Center, Blocking on X
3. X Help Center, About public and protected Posts
4. X Help Center, About the Notifications timeline
5. X Help Center, Report a Post, List, or Direct Message
6. X Help Center, Authenticity
7. X Help Center, Report abusive behavior
8. Unfollr, How to Remove Fake Followers and Bots on Twitter in 2026