Twitter testing disappearing Tweets, dubbed 'Fleets'

Twitter is rolling out a test of fleeting, disappearing messages on its platform for those who want to share their thoughts without having them exist on the internet forever.

The test of so-called "fleets," starts in Brazil on Thursday. Based on how people respond to the test, fleets could be rolled out elsewhere soon.

"Fleets are a way to share fleeting thoughts. Unlike Tweets, Fleets disappear after 24 hours and don’t get Retweets, Likes, or public replies -- people can only react to your Fleets with DMs," Kayvon Beykpour, the product lead at Twitter, said in tweet. "Instead of showing up in people’s timelines, Fleets are viewed by tapping on your avatar."

While Twitter is "fueled by people sharing their thoughts openly," Beykpour noted that this can at times "be intimidating!"

Beykpour added that they often receive feedback that people "don’t feel comfortable Tweeting because Tweets can be seen and replied to by anybody, feel permanent and performative" or may even get anxiety about how many likes and retweets a post will receive.

He noted this is a "substantial" change for the platform.

Beykpour implored that while they sound a lot like the Instagram Stories feature and have many similarities, "There are also a few intentional differences to make the experience more focused on sharing and seeing people's thoughts."

He added he hopes that Fleets will "help people share the fleeting thoughts that they would have been unlikely to Tweet."