Twitter’s Copycat Feature was a Truly Fleeting Moment

Rest in peace Fleets, you won’t be missed

Base Image: Twitter

Twitter was the one safe place left in the social media landscape where users could hide from the influx of stories/reels/other copycats— until it wasn’t. When the company announced Fleets on November 17, 2020, it was met with a collective sigh. The wider audience was more concerned with other issues — improving its moderation practices and adding that elusive edit button — than using a feature already available on other social media apps. Still, the company pressed on, and the feature began its global rollout.

Now, only 8 months later, the company is announcing that it’s killing off Fleets. The feature will end on August 3, with the company now “working on some new stuff.” There was much rejoice across the internet.

Fleet before you Tweet

Though tweets disappear from our feeds quickly — unless they are given an algorithmic supercharge — they are oddly permanent. Like everything on the internet, once it’s out there, it’s out there. And in a world where users are becoming accustomed to disappearing messages and time-limited…