On LinkedIn, there isn’t always a simple button to individually remove a person who follows you. The right solution depends on the case: limit your followers to your connections, block a specific person, remove an existing relationship, or adjust the visibility of your activity. If your goal is for a specific person to no longer see your profile, blocking is the clearest option.

  • RememberLinkedIn distinguishes between following and connecting. Someone can follow your content without being a relation. A first-degree relationship automatically follows your posts and articles, but an off-network member can also follow you if your settings allow it.

Quick response

If you want to remove all off-network followers, go to Settings & Privacy, Visibility, Followers, then choose Your connections in Who can follow you. LinkedIn says that if you limit followers to your connections, off-network followers are removed and your follower count becomes the same as your connection count.

If you want to block a specific person from following you or viewing your profile, go to their profile, open More, then Report/Block and choose Block. LinkedIn indicates that the blocked member does not receive notification of this action, except in certain special cases related to Recruiter.

Delete a follower: the decision matrix

Location Recommended action Effect
Unknown Followers Off Network Limit Who can follow you a Your connections Off-grid followers are removed
A specific person is bothering you Block member She no longer views your profile normally
Old relationship no longer needed Remove connection You are no longer 1st degree relationships
You no longer want to see his posts Unfollow Your feed is cleaned, but she can still follow you
You want to hide part of the activity Adjust post/profile visibility Less public exposure
  • This matrix avoids a common confusionunfollowing someone does not stop them from following you. Removing a relationship does not necessarily block access to your profile. And limiting followers to your connections does not always resolve cases of harassment or problematic contact.

Limit followers to your connections

On desktop

  • click Me;

  • open Settings & Privacy;

  • go to Visibility;

  • in Visibility of your LinkedIn activity, click on Followers;

  • in Who can follow you, choose Your connections;

  • also check the Make follow primary toggle depending on your objective.

On mobile

  • touch your profile photo;

  • open Settings;

  • go to Visibility;

  • tap Followers;

  • choose Your connections.

LinkedIn specifies that the change may take up to 24 hours. If you choose Your connections, there will no longer be a Follow button next to your posts or articles for people outside the network.

Block a specific person

If your problem concerns a particular profile, limiting followers is not always enough. In this case:

  • open the person’s profile;

  • click More in the introduction area;

  • choose Report/Block;

  • select Block [name];

  • confirm.

LinkedIn indicates that the blocked member then appears in your blocked list. The member does not receive a notification, with possible exceptions when you share or have shared a LinkedIn Recruiter account. LinkedIn also specifies that there is no limit to the number of members you can block, but that you must wait 48 hours before reblocking the same person after an unblocking.

Difference between follower, relationship and subscriber

LinkedIn explains that following allows you to see a person’s public posts and articles without sending an invitation. Connecting creates a two-way relationship: you become a first-degree relationship, you can send each other messages and see your posts and updates in the feed.

This means

  • a follower is not necessarily a relationship;

  • a relationship is generally also subscribed to your content;

  • a person can follow your content without being part of your network;

  • if Follow is the main action on your profile, you increase the probability of subscribers outside the network.

For a complete explanation, re-read what are LinkedIn users called.

What if it’s a LinkedIn relationship?

If the person is a 1st degree relationship, you can also remove the relationship. LinkedIn states that a deleted connection is not notified, but that you are no longer connected and that some recommendations or endorsements may disappear.

The right choice

  • remove the relationship if you no longer want to be connected;

  • block if you want to prevent normal interaction or consultation of the profile;

  • unsubscribe if you only want to no longer see its content;

  • limit your followers if you want to remove off-network subscribers globally.

For details, see how to delete a contact on LinkedIn.

Privacy checklist before acting

  • Check if the person is a relation or just a follower.

  • Decide if your goal is feed, relationship, profile or privacy.

  • Go to Who can follow you on Your connections if the problem is global.

  • Block the member if the problem is individual and sensitive.

  • Check the visibility of your public profile.

  • Check who can see your posts and activity.

  • Avoid posting sensitive information in your public posts.

  • Keep track if the behavior is intrusive or repetitive.

Impact for sales and recruiters

For a sales or recruitment team, LinkedIn followers are not all leads. A follower can be:

  • a simple reader;

  • an indirect relationship;

  • a competitor;

  • a potential candidate;

  • a prospect;

  • a weak signal without commercial intention.

Removing all off-network followers can reduce the exposure of your content. This is useful for privacy, but less good if your goal is organic distribution. Before limiting followers, ask yourself if you are mainly looking to protect your profile or to develop your audience.

To structure this decision with Yadulink

FAQ

Can we delete a LinkedIn follower one by one?

  • LinkedIn mainly highlights two leverslimiting who can follow you, or blocking a specific person. You should not think like Instagram with a universal individual withdrawal button.

What happens if I limit followers to my connections?

LinkedIn says that out-of-network followers are removed, your follower count becomes the same as your connections, and the change can take up to 24 hours.

Does blocking someone notify them?

LinkedIn indicates that the blocked member does not receive notification of this action. However, there is a possible exception if you shared a LinkedIn Recruiter account with this person.

Does unfollowing prevent someone from following me?

  • No. Unsubscribing affects your feedyou no longer see its content. This does not prevent it from following your public posts if your settings allow it.

Should you limit your followers to protect your profile?

Yes if your priority is discretion. No if your priority is content distribution. The right setting depends on your LinkedIn strategy.

Useful sources

Remember the essential

Removing someone who follows you on LinkedIn often means limiting off-network followers or blocking a specific member. Before acting, distinguish between follower, relationship and blocked person: each option has a different effect on your visibility and your signals.

If you want to keep a clean network without losing good business signals, test Yadulink to prioritize visits, interactions and conversations that are really useful.