FAQ
What's the Difference Between Remove and Unfollow on LinkedIn?
Quick Answer
Remove ends the connection: you're no longer 1st-degree, mutual endorsements are withdrawn, and reconnecting requires a fresh invitation. Unfollow keeps the connection fully intact — messaging, visibility, everything — but their posts stop appearing in your feed. Neither action notifies the other person. The practical rule: unfollow solves feed problems, remove solves network problems.
- Remove ends the connection (endorsements withdrawn, reconnect needs a new invite); unfollow keeps everything but silences their posts.
- Neither action notifies the other person — both are completely silent.
- Rule of thumb: unfollow fixes feed problems, remove fixes network problems; most cleanups need both.
- Connection Remover Pro for LinkedIn is the only cleanup tool offering both actions per connection in one filtered pass.
By PlugMonkey Team, Editorial
Side by Side
What each action changes:
- Connection status — Remove: ended. Unfollow: unchanged (still 1st-degree)
- Their posts in your feed — Remove: gone. Unfollow: gone
- Messaging as a connection — Remove: lost. Unfollow: kept
- Mutual endorsements — Remove: withdrawn. Unfollow: kept
- Reversible — Remove: only via a new invitation. Unfollow: one click to re-follow
- They're notified — Remove: no. Unfollow: no
When to Unfollow
Unfollow is for connections that are professionally worth keeping but noisy: the former colleague who posts daily motivation threads, the relevant industry contact who reposts everything. Your feed goes quiet; the relationship — and the option to message, introduce, or be found — stays fully intact. It's also instantly reversible.
When to Remove
Remove is for connections that shouldn't be in your network at all: people you can't place, spam and fake profiles, pitch-slappers, or contacts from a chapter you've fully closed. Because removal is effectively permanent (there's no undo — only a new invitation they'll see), it's worth being deliberate.
The Best Cleanups Use Both
Most "my LinkedIn is a mess" feelings are feed problems wearing a network costume — which is why a good cleanup mixes both actions. Connection Remover Pro for LinkedIn is built around exactly this: every connection in the panel gets both a Remove and an Unfollow button, so you prune the strangers and quiet the noise in the same filtered pass. Most tools in this category only remove — the tool comparison covers who offers what.
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