Twitter’s Fleet Comes to a Fleeting End 

Twitter stated “we’re sorry or you’re welcome” in a tweet announcing the decision, presumably recognizing varied user reactions to the function.

After failing to gain traction, Twitter is phasing down its fleets of vanishing tweets.

Last March, the firm began testing tweets that disappear after 24 hours in Brazil. The purpose of fleets was to assuage the fears of new users who might be put off by the public and the permanent nature of regular tweets.

“However, we haven’t seen the rise in new individuals entering the discussion with Fleets that we had hoped for,” Twitter stated in a statement released Wednesday. “Fleets will no longer be available on Twitter as of August 3.”

Twitter’s head of consumer product, Kayvon Beykpour, emphasized that this is how the firm operates.

“(Big) bets are hazardous and speculative, therefore a proportion of them will fail by definition,” he tweeted. “It would be an indication that we aren’t taking large enough swings if we don’t have to wind down features every now and then.”

Fleets are similar to Instagram and Facebook “stories” as well as Snapchat’s snaps, which allow users to share short-term images and messages.

These capabilities are becoming increasingly popular among social media users who want to talk in smaller groups and have more private conversations. However, individuals use Twitter differently than they do Facebook, Instagram, or messaging apps since it is more of a public dialogue and a means to keep up with what’s going on. Fleets, it turned out, were illogical.

There was also the issue of a name. The term fleet is also a brand name for an enema, as several people pointed out on Twitter when the function first appeared.

Twitter stated “we’re sorry or you’re welcome” in a tweet announcing the decision, presumably recognizing varied user reactions to the function.

We’ll be deleting Fleets on August 3 while we work on some new stuff, so please accept our apologies or accept our welcome — Twitter (@Twitter) July 14, 2021