Twitter has been reportedly testing ‘fleets’, tweets that will disappear after 24 hours. These exclusive tweets will only be viewable by clicking on the Twitter user’s profile picture. After viewing the ‘fleet’, the viewer has the option to respond to the tweet by direct message, but these ‘fleets’ will not be posted to anyone’s timeline or profile. They cannot be retweeted or liked by any user. However, just like tweets, ‘fleets’ are only allowed to be 280 characters long and can be accompanied by images, videos, and GIFs. This new feature is expected to decrease users’ anxiety of sharing ideas, thoughts, opinions, stories, etc. since ‘fleets’ are temporary.
Twitter’s product lead Kayvon Beykpour discussed the intimidation behind tweeting personal thoughts and the hope of ‘fleets’ changing that:
People often tell us that they don’t feel comfortable Tweeting because Tweets can be seen and replied to by anybody, feel permanent and performative (how many Likes & Retweets will this get!?). Many of us can probably empathize with this: https://t.co/LW2xWlctZi
— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) March 4, 2020
According to WIRED, ‘fleets’ may pose as a potential threat because it can be used for harassment and bullying. This has become a growing issue on Twitter’s competitors Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat since they all released their 24-hour story feature. However, Aly Pavela, a communications manager at Twitter, reassured users that all precautionary methods will be taken to make sure ‘fleets’ are not being used for harmful purposes:
“We’ll maintain a copy of Fleets for a limited time after they are deleted to enforce any rule violations and so people can appeal enforcement actions.”
Twitter has only tested ‘fleets’ in Brazil, but hopefully, the new feature will reach the United States in the near future.
