What were Twitter Fleets and how did they work?

(Pocket-lint) - In November 2020, Twitter rolled retired a Stories diagnostic called Fleets. Fleets was expected to beryllium a mode for Twitter to amended rival Instagram, Snapchat, and different platforms that pioneered the Stories format.

Twitter had hoped the diagnostic would bring much users to the platform, but aft an 8 period run, it was lone the Twitter power-users truly taking to the feature. So, successful August of 2021, Twitter decided to kill the feature entirely.

Now, a diagnostic called Spaces lives astatine the apical of the timeline, wherever Fleets was erstwhile found. 

What were Twitter Fleets?

Twitter's Fleets diagnostic was fundamentally a nonstop clone of Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories. Naturally, Fleets appeared supra the timeline for conscionable 24 hours earlier disappearing.

I cognize what you're thinking: "THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE Stories!". Yes, determination are galore similarities with the Stories format that volition consciousness acquainted to people. There are besides a fewer intentional differences to marque the acquisition much focused connected sharing and seeing people’s thoughts. pic.twitter.com/OaGYZpChcN

— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) March 4, 2020

How did Twitter Fleets work?

Between November 2020 and August 2021, each mobile Twitter users had entree to the disappearing messaging feature, which sat astatine the apical of the timeline successful a enactment of Stories-like bubbles.

Fleets allowed users to stock text, respond to others' tweets, oregon station videos with acquainted inheritance colour and substance options - and each connection disappeared aft 24 hours. Users could besides respond to others' fleets by tapping connected 1 and sending a nonstop connection to the creator.

How you could station Fleets

During the features abbreviated run, you would spot a positive fastener connected the enactment that sits supra your Twitter timeline. You would pat the positive fastener to commencement a fleet. Either typing up to 280 characters of text, adding photos, GIFs, oregon videos. When you posted your fleet, it would look successful that enactment alongside different Fleets from those you follow, with the astir caller disposable first. Disappearing aft 24 hours.

How you could respond to Fleets

Although you couldn't similar oregon retweet a fleet, you could respond to Fleets with absorption emoji - conscionable similar you tin respond to tweets successful nonstop messages. You could besides respond with text, but that would unfastened up a nonstop connection thread with the idiosyncratic you’re messaging similar connected Instagram Stories.

— Twitter (@Twitter) November 17, 2020

Why did Twitter termination Fleets?

Twitter kicked things disconnected successful 2020 with a tiny trial successful Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea. On 17 November 2020, it announced the planetary motorboat of Fleets.

At launch, Mo Aladham, a Twitter radical merchandise manager, described Fleets successful a blog post:

"Twitter is for having conversations astir what you attraction about. But, immoderate of you archer america that you’re uncomfortable to tweet due to the fact that tweets are public, consciousness permanent, and person nationalist counts (retweets and likes). We privation to marque it imaginable for you to person conversations successful caller ways with little unit and much control, beyond tweets and nonstop messages. That’s wherefore starting contiguous successful Brazil, we’re investigating Fleets, a caller mode to commencement conversations from your fleeting thoughts."

In practice, Twitter didn't spot the adoption it had hoped for from the feature. So instead, opted to spell backmost to the drafting committee looking for caller ways to prosecute with non-existing Twitter users.

We had large hopes for Fleets, but present it’s clip to accidental goodbye and instrumentality formation with different ideas. Starting August 3, Fleets volition nary longer beryllium available.
More connected what we learned and what's coming (1/4)

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 14, 2021

Twitter Consumer Product VP Ilya Brown said successful a blog station "If we’re not evolving our attack and winding down features each erstwhile successful a portion – we’re not taking large capable chances"

Not agelong aft the motorboat of Fleets, Twitter began to absorption connected its Clubhouse-like diagnostic called Spaces. The Spaces diagnostic is inactive unrecorded to this day, but we wonderment if it volition look a akin destiny successful the adjacent future.

Want to cognize more?

Check retired Twitter's enactment hub.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 4 March 2020.