“I use Twitter to get away from IG stories, not have it follow me around on every platform reminding me that I don’t have makeup on.”
Twitter has unveiled a new feature on the popular app, and people aren’t happy about it. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) asked her followers, “does the fleets thing stress anyone else out?” and it turns out that Twitter users aren’t very happy with the update.
The feature, which launched on Tuesday (Nov. 17), adds a bar to the top of every user’s feed where they can see other temporary tweets, videos, and more. Much like Instagram’s Stories and Snapchat’s disappearing snaps, the “fleets” posted disappear after 24 hours. The posts cannot be retweeted, liked, or replied to publicly and it does NOT alert a user if your tweet has been added to someone else’s story.
The name alone is giving users quite the reaction:
To some, the feature is something they ran from when other platforms adapted it, and the fear that it will change the conversational app into something more superficial.
But to others, specifically Latinos and other marginalized communities, fear how Fleets will be used in the app to target vulnerable communities that already face harassment on the app. Twitter has long faced calls from marginalized communities to do more to combat online harassment, and so far, this feature just screams more abuse.
When Instagram first unleashed the similar feature, Stories, users had similar concerns due to how Snapchat had so many controversies when it first launched. Guess we will have to see if this is a fleeting moment for the feature, or one that stays permanently.