Twitter users bade farewell to Fleets, the “Snapchat-like” feature of the microblogging platform, as it bows out on August 3.
The feature, which was launched in November last year, lets users share texts, photos and videos within one day or 24 hours after its posting.
Twitter in its tests said that “Fleets helped people feel more comfortable sharing personal and casual thoughts, opinions and feelings.”
It also said that it made some people “feel more comfortable joining conversations” because the ephemeral format was seen as a “lower pressure way” for them to talk about what’s happening.
But by July 2021, the platform announced it is pulling it out on August 3 as it has not “seen an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets” as it had hoped.
Twitter said it would continue to try “bigger” and “bolder” things to improve public conversations online.
“If we’re not evolving our approach and winding down features every once in a while—we’re not taking big enough chances. We’ll continue to build new ways to participate in conversations, listening to feedback and changing direction when there may be a better way to serve people using Twitter,” the platform said before.
Some Filipino users are trying to utilize the product in its last hours by sharing adult content.
It’s amazing to see people maximizing the last day of fleets 😜💦
— The Raconteur ⭐️봇 (@ASayasaccharide) August 2, 2021
Bye fleets! Last day of kalat! 👀
— V ᜊ᜔ #OUSTDU🐢 (@Being_Positive_) August 2, 2021
Some are using it to post selfies.
Last day of fleets? Let’s be vain nalang for now ☺️
— Patrick Santos (@ptrcksnts_) August 2, 2021
Others tuned in to the platform to wait for their crush’s content.
waiting din for my crushie's fleets entry. or dm nya na lang sana sakin emz
— tonyo (@seananthonyyy_) August 2, 2021
As of this writing, Twitter users can still use Fleets.
The platform said that it will remove it by August 3.
Manila is 15 hours ahead of San Francisco, where Twitter is based.
