Twitter is trialling a new feature that will allow some tweets to disappear after 24 hours.

Called "fleets" due to their fleeting nature, the vanishing posts are similar to the "stories" feature on Instagram.

Twitter's product lead Kayvon Beykpour said the posts can be viewed by tapping on a user's profile picture and people can only react to them with direct messages.

The trial is only in Brazil for now, but Twitter said it may bring fleets to other countries depending on how the trial goes.

The move comes as the social media company aims to make its platform more user-friendly and attract more people through measures such as allowing users to follow topics and cleaning up abusive content.


In a blog post, Twitter said it will be looking into how the new feature "changes the way you interact and if it allows you to share what you're thinking more comfortably."

Fleets can't be retweeted and won't have any "likes", and are designed to allay the concerns of new users who may be turned off by the public and permanent nature of normal tweets.

Since any replies will show up as direct messages to the original tweeter, and not as a public response, any back-and-forth will be a private conversation instead of a public discussion.

By introducing the disappearing tweets, the company is hoping people will be more likely to share casual, everyday thoughts.

"We're hoping that Fleets can help people share the fleeting thoughts that they would have been unlikely to tweet," Mr Beykpour said.

The new feature is reminiscent of Instagram and Facebook "stories" and Snapchat's snaps, which have become increasingly popular among social media users and allow them to post short-lived photos and messages.

However, Twitter often serves a different function than Instagram and Facebook and is used as a platform for politicians and public figures including Donald Trump.

Disappearing tweets could make it trickier to hold such people accountable, monitor their posts and fact-check them.

Last year, Twitter launched a feature for users to hide certain replies on their tweets.