Twitter Tests Vanishing Tweets Called “Fleets”

Twitter is one of the most-used social media platforms. To compete for the top spot, adopting a popular feature from a competitor seems like a possible move to make. And it looks like that’s exactly what the company is doing, now that it’s testing a new feature called “fleets”.

So what are fleets? According to the BBC, these are tweets that vanish after 24 hours. If it sounds familiar, it’s simply because Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook all have a similar feature called Stories already. This version by Twitter has not yet been rolled out widely, as it’s currently only being tested in Brazil.

Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour said that the feature will allow users to post “fleeting thoughts” that they will otherwise have been unlikely to tweet. Normal tweets can feel “permanent and performative”, so fleets is supposed to be the alternative.

We’ve been listening to this feedback and working to create new capabilities that address some of the anxieties that hold people back from talking on Twitter. Today, in Brazil only, we’re starting a test (on Android and iOS) for one of those new capabilities. It’s called Fleets. pic.twitter.com/6MLs8irb0c

— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) March 4, 2020

Fleets, on the other hand, while just as public as normal tweets, cannot get retweets, likes or replies. That last one isn’t particularly special, as the company has announced something similar for normal tweets already.

The feature is already getting mixed reactions. Some welcome it, some are quite against it. The latter groups seems to be gaining momentum, as #RIPTwitter starts trending on the platform. As you’d expect, most of them want Twitter to give them the option to edit tweets instead which is one of the most requested feature since years ago.

Meanwhile, there’s no rollout date for the feature outside of Brazil but nevertheless, do keep a look for it in case the feature appears on your Twitter app.

(Source: Kayvon Beykpour / Twitter via BBC)

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