Twitter ditches Fleets

Twitter will stop using Fleets on August 3, the feature for messages that disappear automatically after 24 hours. According to Twitter, There are too few people who use it.

The Fleets appear on Twitter above all user messages and are displayed in spheres. People can use Fleets to share texts, videos and images that disappear automatically after a day. The feature is similar to how Snapchat and Stories on Facebook and Instagram work.

Twitter writes that Fleets had to encourage more people to post messages in an accessible way. At the end of November last year, the Fleets became available in Europe. Twitter designer Joshua Harris said at the time that users should feel safer sharing through Fleets. Because messages disappear and cannot be shared, strangers are less likely to see them and the chance of arguing is less.

“But it turns out that they were mostly used by people who already shared most on Twitter,” the platform now writes.

After 3 August, Fleets are no longer available. However, Twitter says it wants to keep some features of Fleets, such as more possibilities to put text on pictures or paste moving pictures on shared photos.

“We sometimes try out big, bold things to see if it helps the public conversation,” writes Twitter CEO Ilya Brown in a blog post. “Some of these updates, such as Fleets, are a gamble and turn out not to work afterwards. With this, we will be rigorous, evaluate what works and take our losses if it doesn’t work.”