All the social media platforms that are famous today have their Unique Selling Points (USPs), which have helped them get there. Without them, it isn’t possible for any platform to get to the top today; there are too many platforms, and few of them match the rapidly changing consumer demands. For example, Snapchat’s USP was its disappearing snaps and top-notch privacy. However, over the years, it has had to change its concept entirely to suit the needs of its users.
Now, there’s also the option to replay the snaps, save them in chat, and even save them to your camera roll should the sender allow it. This constant upgradation and brilliant customer service have kept Snapchat afloat all these years.
When we talk about Unique Selling Points on social media platforms, the conversation isn’t finished before a well-deserved mention of Twitter. This short-form blog type is unlike anything seen online, which is why it gave Twitter the blast-off it needed.
However, many argue that today, the platform is running on borrowed time. It’s still among the top ten social media platforms of all time, but its user base seems to be decreasing. Why do you think Twitter is falling from grace like this, especially right now?
If you can’t think of something, let us help you. Only two words are enough to describe most of this: fake news.
There was a time on the platform when all anyone wanted was views and popularity, even if it was born out of straight-up fake news. People started spreading blatantly wrong news and rumors just for the sake of views. Such news hurt several users and communities, who first informed people about the misinformation on Twitter itself.
The icing on the hypothetical cake was the blowing up Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy Twitter.
It’s true! The Tesla CEO offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion, which was almost a done deal. However, it looks like Musk was concerned about the users’ spam and bot percentage. Apparently, the actual number was about 20%, while Twitter claims it’s only 5%.
Either way, Musk eventually pulled out of the deal claiming “multiple breaches of agreement” and just a general show of bad faith. This resulted in a large fall in Twitter’s stocks and also led to massive embarrassment and value degradation of the platform.
However, it won’t be fair to blame the Elon Muck fiasco for being the spine of all of Twitter’s problems. According to a 2018 study that asked people which emotions they generally feel on different social media platforms, Twitter makes users feel “anxious, guilty and overwhelmed” (yikes).
Anyhow, the platform still has hundreds of millions of users. As long as you steer clear of all politics and news on the platform, you can still enjoy it. Of course, that’ll kind of defeat the whole point of the platform.
Read on till the end of this blog to learn whether or not it is possible to hide your following list on Twitter.
Is It Possible to Hide Following List on Twitter?
If you’re a new user on Twitter and want to hide the users you’re following from the general public, we understand where you’re coming from. Privacy is extremely important, especially in this digital age where almost anything is possible by just getting some of a user’s private information online.
However, we’re sorry to say that there’s no option on Twitter that can help you hide your following list. There isn’t a specific reason behind the absence of such a feature; after all, it does seem like a more than fair ask.
Looks like the Twitter developers’ teams need to pay a little more attention to customer reviews, right?
Anyhow, there isn’t anything that you can do to just hide who you follow from everyone. You can, however, choose to make your account private. In that case, only your followers can see who you follow instead of all random strangers on the internet.
However, keep in mind that making your account private comes with its own set of conditions, the first and foremost of which is that your reach will be affected. If you want to gain thousands of followers in the future or increase your reach to your target audience, you might want to reconsider going private.
This is because a private account protects all your data; the reach of your tweets will be limited to only your followers.
If that sounds like something you might consider doing, we’ve got you.
Here’s how to make your account private on Twitter
Step 1: Launch Twitter on your smartphone and log in to your account.
Step 2: The first screen you’ll see is your Home tab. At the top right corner of the screen, locate and tap on the icon of your profile picture.
Step 3: Scroll down, locate and tap on Settings and Support. From the options that appear below that, select Settings and privacy.
Step 4: In the Settings section, tap on the fourth option called Privacy and security.
Step 5: On the next screen that appears, tap on the first option called Audience and tagging.
Step 6: From the two options on the next page, locate the first one called Protect your Tweets which has a toggle button next to it. By default, it is turned off. Turn it on, and you’re good to go.
Now, only your followers can see who you’re following.
If you still want to hide who you’re following, the best alternative is not to follow them. Just go to their profile every few days to catch up on the content they’ve been posting.
In the end
As we end this blog, let us recap all that we’ve talked about today.
There’s no option on Twitter that allows you to hide who you’re following on Twitter. The best alternative is to hide your following from random users by turning your account private. This means that only your followers will be able to see your following, but a private account comes with its own restrictions; your reach will be limited to your followers only.
If our blog has helped you, don’t forget to tell us all about it in the comments below!
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