X/Twitter’s follow/unfollow churn
Ejaz Ahmed
27 Feb 2026 | 6 min read
Sadly, as long as X/Twitter exists, people use different tricks to get others to follow them. Sometimes they do it without fully understanding, other times completely aware of the bad things they do.
Whether it be follow bait, mention spam, or excessive mass retweeting/liking, these methods rely on the idea of tricking someone to gain their attention, similar to mass following on Twitter, which many consider a growth shortcut but carries significant risks.
Actually, the truth is that most of these ways are spam, and this can, at some point, result in you being suspended.
Why can't you unfollow churn on X/Twitter?
Sending false signals
Interacting with more followers is acceptable, especially if done honestly to make real connections and boost engagement.
The issue is intent. "Follow-baiting," following and immediately unfollowing after a follow-back, is dishonest and deceitful. Starting relationships this way is wrong.
The core problem is this lack of honesty, which can ruin connections from the start.
Good intentions
While trying to connect with shared interests by following many users (e.g., using bio keywords) might start with good intentions, it doesn't scale well. Most (around 95%) won't follow back.
Hitting Twitter's limits forces mass unfollowing, which feels "off."
However, users can still try to game the system, similar to regular Twitter, but the platform closely monitors and bans mass unfollowers.
Bad intentions
This is really the crux of the problem. Are you doing something on Twitter that you wouldn't really want someone else to do to you? Let's look at a few of these bad tricks:
Follow-baiting
The follow-unfollow method, where users follow people, wait for a follow-back, and then immediately unfollow, is a sneaky and spammy tactic, though it often goes undetected by the victims.
Only about 5% follow back, meaning a user aiming for 50,000 followers would need to follow and unfollow about a million people. Furthermore, the gained followers often don't stick around, making the growth unsustainable.
Bulk retweeting and liking
Another way people try to gain followers is by retweeting or liking a ton of tweets every day. The idea is that the people who posted them will notice and follow you back.
You are not really liking those tweets, right? So it's like sending out fake signals all over the place. It might seem okay at first, but I think it's actually messing things up.
All that false stuff is going into Twitter's data about what you like, and as they make the timeline smarter with algorithms, your feed is going to get worse.
One day, you will probably end up with a bunch of junk filling your timeline.
Plus, those bad retweets you do could show up for your followers too, and they might just unfollow you because of it. Likes might spread the same way if Twitter decides to change things like that. It feels like a short-term trick that backfires later.
Mention spamming
This kind of thing is basically spam. You send these messages that nobody asked for, and they do not really mean much, just to make people look at you. For example, some are pretty harmless-looking, like @user thanks or @user hi. Others get more pushy, like @user please follow me back.
If you are firing off a bunch of them every day, tons, really, with no point except getting noticed or maybe a follow back, then it is mention spamming for sure.
It feels kind of annoying when you think about it. Those messages do not add anything useful, sort of like cluttering up everyone's feed.
Using Tweetstorm to avoid churn on X/Twitter
If the core issue with follow/unfollow churn and spammy tactics is sending false signals and wasting time on low-return actions, tools designed for efficiency and genuine connection can help. Tweetstorm offers several features that could be used to build a real audience without resorting to the manipulative tricks discussed above.
Instead of mass-following randomly or engaging in bulk actions to grab attention, Tweetstorm’s tools can focus your efforts for better results.
Feature | How it helps avoid churn/spam |
Helps create genuinely valuable, original content quickly, making an organic following more likely than through spam engagement. | |
Focuses posts on relevant, high-interest topics, attracting followers who genuinely share those interests rather than using generic mention spam. | |
Assists in creating a clear, compelling bio that genuinely communicates your interests and attracts relevant followers who won’t be surprised by your content later. | |
While a "bulk action," it serves to clean up an account (e.g., by removing old, irrelevant, or low-quality content), thereby improving the account's appearance for new, legitimate followers. | |
Allows users to clean up their engagement history, reversing the signal-muddling consequences of bulk retweeting and liking by removing false signals from the past. | |
Enables precise targeting of users and content based on specific keywords and interests, allowing for genuine engagement and connection, unlike untargeted mass following. |
By utilizing these tools for quality content creation, better targeting, and profile clean-up, users can focus on organic growth and meaningful connections, entirely sidestepping the deceptive nature and inevitable cleanup associated with follow-baiting and churn.
Final thoughts
In the end, the urge to get followers very quickly with manipulative tactics, including follow-and-unfollow churn, doing a lot of likes in bulk, or mention spam, are basically not strategies that pay off for people on X/Twitter.
Although these methods may achieve a temporary increase in numbers, in fact, methods like this depend on giving false signals and produce connections that are not genuinely authentic.
The main issue is not only that tactics are considered spam or break site rules (which can result in suspension), but also that such actions detract from the actual purpose of social media.
The main purpose should be actual growth through creating connections. Users who use churn waste time doing actions with small output (since about 5 percent might follow in return), and finally find themselves getting an audience that is not real and probably will not create meaningful engagement.
FAQs
What does "follow unfollow churn" mean on X/Twitter?
Follow-unfollow churn means that the user is quickly following lots of people and, after a short time, unfollows them just to get their attention and to encourage a follow back. This is used mostly to raise user follower numbers artificially.
Why is unfollow churn often seen as a bad thing on X/Twitter?
It is seen as negative because people send out fake signals. It looks like the user wants to connect, but the actual intention is only to get more followers, so that feels manipulative and not real. Also, it does not work well and takes up too much time.
What are "bad intentions" with follower growth methods?
Bad intentions means doing things that are not genuine, like follow-baiting, mass retweeting or liking just to be seen more (without actually being interested), or spamming mentions, all only to get more followers, but not to really engage or connect.
How poor is follow-baiting for getting followers on X/Twitter?
It is very inefficient. Usually, just 5 percent of people you follow will follow in return. For a target as high as 50,000 followers, you would need to follow and unfollow about one million people, which is not sustainable and is a waste of time.
What are the negative results of bulk retweeting and liking?
If a user does a mass retweet or likes posts without actual interest, it will send wrong signals to the Twitter algorithm. Such actions can cause a timeline to fill up with less important or junk material after some time. Spammy retweets may also make current followers unfollow.
What is meant by mentioning spamming on X/Twitter?
Mention spamming is when a user keeps sending lots of unwanted messages to other users, like "@user thanks" or "@user please follow me back," only to get attention or a follow in return, but it does not add useful value to the conversation.
How do tools such as Tweetstorm help avoid churn and spam?
Tweetstorm and such tools focus on quality more than just quantity. With features like Tweet Generator, users can create genuine content to grow organically. Advanced Twitter Search can allow for targeted engagement in a real way, and cleanup tools like Mass Delete Tweets or Delete Twitter Likes can fix bad results from previous spam attempts.