“We’re aware of a bug accessible through a technical workaround where some Fleets media URLs may be accessible after 24 hours. When reached, a Twitter spokesperson said a fix was on the way. But even after the 24 hours elapsed, the server would still return links to fleets that had already disappeared from view in the Twitter app. Each fleet had its own direct URL, which when opened in a browser would load the fleet as an image or a video. What returned was a list of fleets from the server. Using an app that’s designed to interact with Twitter’s back-end systems via its developer API.
The implication is that this bug could be abused to archive a user’s fleets after they expire. The bug effectively allowed anyone to access and download a user’s fleets without triggering a notification that the user’s fleet had been read and by whom. It’s too soon to say but we’re definitely hopeful! Ephemeral content is one of the biggest social media success stories in recent years, and Twitter might be able to ride that success with Fleets.Full disclosure: scraping fleets from public accounts without triggering the read notification That being said, you can check out the Twitter-owned hashtag #FleetsFeedback to browse user feedback on the feature (just keep in mind that most of the Tweets are in Portuguese as this was the primary test market, but we predict the global feedback will roll in soon!). Since Fleets were only tested in select markets like Brazil before their global rollout, it’s difficult to say how it will play out.
For instance, while Instagram Stories was a near-instant hit, Facebook Stories has been slower to gain traction. This could very well be the case, but it really depends on how many people adopt the feature (and how often they use it). It’s clear from Twitter’s announcement that their hope for Fleets is that it will entice more users to engage on the platform - particularly those who aren’t as comfortable sharing regular (permanent) Tweets. To create a Fleet, start by tapping the “+” button that appears at the top of your Fleets feed (just like you would on Instagram Stories).
If your DMs are open, people will be able to react to your Fleets with a text-based message or emoji.Īre stories part of your social strategy? They should be! Find out what the future holds for stories on social in this blog post! How to Share a Twitter Fleetįleets are being rolled out to all markets, so you may already have access to the new feature.
There’s also plans to introduce stickers and live broadcasting to Fleets in the future.Ī user’s Fleets will appear at the top of their home page and anyone who can access your full profile will also be able to find your Fleets there. Plus, you can also respond and react to Fleets by tapping on one and sending a direct message or emoji to the creator, which will start a DM conversation. You can fleet text, reactions to Tweets, photos or videos and customize your Fleets with various background and text options. Well, unlike regular Tweets, Fleets disappear after 24 hours and can’t be retweeted or liked. So what makes Fleets different to regular Tweets?