A bit of a marmite addition, they were scrapped after less than a year. Now, Elon Musk has hinted at bringing it back, but differently than before. If you can barely remember them, we don’t blame you. We answer what are Twitter Fleets and how they worked before.
Many things have happened on Twitter since Fleets were last around. We’ve had a change of CEO in Elon Musk and all the changes he brought with him, as well as plenty of new users. In fact, they’ll be thousands who weren’t around the first time the feature was introduced.
With the possibility of them coming back, but maybe not as they were in 2020, we explain what Twitter Fleets is so you’re up to date. Just be prepared that it might not be the same as it was…
What Are Twitter Fleets?
Essentially, they were Twitter’s version of Snapchat and Instagram Stories. The idea was that you would post ‘fleeting’ messages that you didn’t want to be out there forever.
Users could post about their day, respond to others and even make videos using them. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?
Well, the similarities to other social media temporary posts don’t stop there. Those who had posted a Fleet would have their profile picture appear in a circle above the rest of the feed, with a blue circle around it if they had a post you hadn’t seen.
Making one was pretty simple. There was a plus icon on the row of Fleets and you could add up to 280 characters (those were the days…) or add a gif or a video. They would appear in chronological order of what had been posted most recently and you only saw Fleets from those you followed.
Users couldn’t retweet or like a Fleet like you can regular posts, but you could reply with your own Fleet, or tap it to start a DM.
Clearly, the idea was to jump on the busy bandwagon that Instagram, in particular, had great success with. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Only lasting nine months, Fleets were no more after Twitter users didn’t take to the feature as was hoped. Though some loved it, many were a bit fed up with seeing the same thing across all their socials. So, it was scrapped.
After that, we all forgot about them and it became a bit of a fever dream. But showing that his plans for the platform aren’t stopping, we could be seeing them again.
Elon Musk Hints Fleets Are Coming Back
No one can deny that Elon Musk has made a number of changes to Twitter in his short time in charge; for better or worse. We’ve had Twitter views, all the different verification ticks (which were then scrapped), and square profile pictures for a hot minute.
However, the blue tick controversy is taking a side step as the business tycoon suggested that Twitter Fleets were coming back from the dead.
After a discussion about the “inevitable” return of Vine or Periscope, someone chimed in about the possibility of Fleets coming back. Quick to reply, Elon seemed to say that their return was also inevitable, but in a slightly different way.
And that was it! Many were intrigued by the suggestion of Fleets 2.0, but if it will actually surface is another question idea. The CEO has been implementing changes at a rapid pace. It wouldn’t be surprising if this new version was released sooner rather than later.