Twitter is testing ‘fleets’ that disappear after 24 hours

Twitter has started a test of so-called fleets. These are tweets that automatically disappear after 24 hours. The feature is similar to Stories in apps like Snapchat and Instagram. Fleets are currently only available in Brazil.

Twitter’s product lead explains on the platform about the new feature. He shows examples of fleets and admits that the new message format is very similar to Stories in other apps. He does state, however, that adjustments have been made on purpose to encourage people to use the ‘share their thoughts’ function.

As with Stories in apps like Snapchat and Instagram, the fleets are indicated by circular icons above a user’s timeline. Followers can comment via DM, so not public. That too is comparable to Stories implementations of other apps.

Fleets can contain a maximum of 280 characters and can be provided with attachments such as photos or animated gifs. Users cannot like or retweet the disappearing messages. Fleets are also only visible to followers via the profile page of the relevant user. They don’t appear in others’ timeline.

Whether and when Twitter will make the fleets available to other users is not yet known. The social network is currently testing the feature among its own developers and with users in Brazil.