Fleets: Twitter launches disappearing tweets tool worldwide – By Reuters Staff (The Guardian) / Nov 18 2020
Concern among some users that Fleet feature, similar to stories on Snapchat and Instagram, creates opportunities for online harassment
Twitter has launched a new feature worldwide called ‘fleets’: tweets that disappear after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature on Snapchat and Instagram.
Twitter has previously announced its plan for these ephemeral tweets, dubbed “fleets”, and tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea.
“Some of you tell us that tweeting is uncomfortable because it feels so public, so permanent, and like there’s so much pressure to rack up retweets and likes,” Twitter’s design director, Joshua Harris, and product manager, Sam Haveson, wrote in a blog post.
“Because they disappear from view after a day, fleets helped people feel more comfortable sharing personal and casual thoughts, opinions, and feelings.”
Some Twitter users experimenting with the tool said it had created worrying opportunities for online harassment, like allowing unwanted direct messages. It also allowed fleet authors to tag people who had blocked them. Twitter said it was listening to feedback and working on fixes for such safety concerns.
