Can a follow up thank you email ever hurt your chances?

I’ve always heard you are supposed to follow up after interviews but have never actually done it because I don’t want to seem pushy. I had an informal phone interview last friday and the interviewer told me he would let me know a decision by the end of this week. I didn’t think to follow up until just today, and just sent a quick thank you email today (Half a week after interview) but I’m reading things that say you should follow up no later than 24 hours after the interview.

Is a late follow up better than none? Is there any real value in a follow up email or are you just bothering them?

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