Continuing the endless cycle of social media apps copying features from one another, Twitter is now adding “Fleets,” a new ephemeral content sharing feature. An initial preview of Fleets shows a design almost exactly like the “stories” feature on other social platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook. Users can add a fleet that will be shared for only 24 hours, visible in a bubble at the top of the page.

What sets Fleets apart from Stories?

Perhaps the one major difference from typical stories is that instead of being displayed in a left-to-right format, multiple fleets are displayed in a vertical scroll. Another difference is that unlike Instagram, Fleets allows all users to share links. (Instagram only allows verified users – users with a certain number of followers – to share links in their stories.)

Kayvon Beykpour, Product Lead at Twitter, stated:

Every day, people come to Twitter to see what’s happening. One of the unique things about Twitter is that “what’s happening” is fueled by people sharing their thoughts openly, through Tweets. But sharing your thoughts publicly can be intimidating…

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. Instead of showing up in people’s timelines, Fleets are viewed by tapping on your avatar.

Limits to Fleets

Unlike Instagram and Snapchat stories, only one font is available, and stickers and gifs are limited. Images can be uploaded, however. The 280-character limit is also in place.

Fleets are currently being rolled out for testing in Brazil, with other markets to follow.