Twitter Tests Out New Stories Feature Called “Fleets”

Twitter, might finally be rolling out its own version of Stories called “Fleets.” The company announced that it will begin to try out the new sharing format starting in Brazil. This will let users post ephemeral content to its social network for the first time.

Twitter Fleets

Unlike Tweets, Fleets can’t receive Likes, Replies or Retweets, and they’ll disappear entirely after 24 hours.

In a statement posted on the Twitter blog, Mo Al Adham, Group Product Manager at Twitter, had this to say;

“We want to make it possible for you to have conversations on the platform in new ways, with less pressure and more control, in addition to Tweets and Direct Messages (DMs). This is the reason why we will test, starting today in Brazil, a new feature called Fleets, a way to have conversations initiated with your fleeting thoughts.” Mo Al Adham – Group Product Manager, Twitter

To be clear, Fleets aren’t private; they’re just a little less accessible. Users could visit someone’s public Twitter profile and tap to view their Fleets even if they are not following them. However, Fleets won’t circulate Twitter’s network, show up in Search or Moments, and can’t be embedded on an external website.

Twitter is one of the last major social platforms to test out a Stories format. First popularized by Snapchat, you can now find a version of Stories across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and others. Spotify also recently announced a test of a Stories-like feature and even Microsoft’s Skype gave it a go at one time.

Twitter’s test arrives shortly after activist investor Elliott Management Corp. took a stake in the company, and began a push for changes at the social network. The investment firm believes Twitter isn’t living up to its potential and its CEO Jack Dorsey—who the firm wants replaced—is distracted by his side projects and by his other CEO job at Square Inc.

READ MORE: Elliott Management: Twitter’s Major Investor Wants CEO Jack Dorsey Out

Twitter is also seen as having lagged behind on innovations. While other social networks have adopted popular features like Stories, Twitter has remained focused only on its core product.

Twitter says Fleets will begin to roll out to Brazilian users on both iOS and Android, following the app’s update, and the test will run for a few months before Twitter decides to roll out its stories feature to other global markets.