Why Kylie Jenner Unfollowed Her BFFs Like Sofia Richie On Instagram: It’s Part Of A ‘Bigger Plan’

Kylie Jenner caused a stir by unfollowing her closest friends — including Sofia Richie and Victoria Villarroel – but a source tells us it was all ‘business.’

Kylie Jenner, 23, got fans talking this week when she unfollowed nearly all of her BFFs on Instagram. While it looked like there might be some drama, it turns out the makeup mogul had a pretty smart reason for the social media purge. “Kylie knew that whittling her list down would highlight the exact pages she wanted to showcase for her fans and hopefully get them to follow,” a source spilled to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY.

Of the 28 she continued to follow, Stassie Karanikolaou appeared to be the only friend exempt from the purge along with her family members, popular fan pages and of course her own brands Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin. “Pages like Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin to promote her own brands, and she made sure to include a few of her fan pages to show them the same love they’ve shown her all these years,” they added, noting it was a “short-term” marketing school.

As of Jan. 8, the Kylie Skin founder has begun re-following some of the unfollowed friends, including Fai Khadra, Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin. Ky has yet to add Sofia Richie, 22, back to the list but the model and Scott Disick‘s ex continues to follow her. “[The friends] knew about this all along and there’s nothing but love there. They all know the name of the game,” our insider added.

The timing was particularly curious as Kylie has been vacationing in Aspen, Colorado with her family, including mom Kris Jenner and sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall, as well as Fai, in a $450K a month mansion. Specifically, Fai was photographed on a shopping outing with Kendall just six days before Kylie’s unfollow spree. “Kylie has always been a savvy entrepreneur and there’s a reason she’s one of the richest women on the planet. She knows exactly what she’s doing especially when it comes to running her social media accounts,” our source reiterated.

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And with the buzz and attention, it certainly seems like the move has worked. “Kylie is a master of social media and business…This was all a part of a bigger plan and it was all business. She will and have re-followed her friends,” a second insider added. “She just wanted to focus to be on her brand and brands she wants her followers to know about. People are talking and that is all she hoped for, free advertising all the way.”

Kylie regularly posts about her cosmetic and skincare lines on social media, even celebrating National Bubble Bath Day on Jan. 8 with a super sexy post! The mom of Stormi Webster, 2, appeared to pose nude in a tub as she poured in her own rose scented bubble bath. In recent weeks, she also promoted her epic Grinch-themed Kylie Cosmetics holiday collection with a number of themed photo shoots.