Twitter is testing disappearing tweets for 'fleeting thoughts' called 'fleets'
Here's a word you're apparently just going to have to get used to: "fleets."
That's the name for a new feature Twitter is testing which is essentially the platform's very own version of Snapchat's Stories, allowing users to publicly share posts that disappear after a certain period of time. Similar features have previously been brought to other platforms like Facebook.
Twitter in a blog post on Wednesday announced it's testing "fleets," tweets that disappear in 24 hours, in Brazil, BuzzFeed News reports. A "fleet" can consist of up to 280 characters with photos, GIFs, or videos, per The Verge.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Fleets are a way to share fleeting thoughts," Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour said in a thread on Wednesday. "We're hoping that Fleets can help people share the fleeting thoughts that they would have been unlikely to Tweet."
Fleets, Beykpour explained, can't receive any likes, retweets, or replies, and they're accessible by clicking on a user's avatar. And yes, he acknowledged, "there are many similarities with the Stories format." With this feature, Beykpour said Twitter is hoping to "address some of the anxieties that hold people back from talking on Twitter," including people not feeling "comfortable" tweeting because tweets "can be seen and replied to by anybody" and "feel permanent and performative."
There's no word yet on when fleets might permanently roll out for U.S. users, but in the meantime, get those "not quite good enough for full tweets" thoughts ready.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published