Why is Twitter removing the Fleets function?
STARTING on August 3rd, Twitter users will no longer see Twitter's Fleets at the top of their app. The social media giant is abandoning its Fleets in the coming weeks, less than a year after launching the feature. Twitter's Fleet feature allows users to share text, photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours. Fleets are essentially stories where users are allowed to share pictures and videos, similar to Snapchat. Facebook and Instagram rolled out similar story features; however, unlike their rival social networks, Twitter's Fleet never caught on with users. In June 2021, Twitter began testing ads between Fleets, which at the time, the company called the ads an experiment with a handful of advertisers. However, eight months since its debut, Twitter has decided to ax the feature on August 3. On July 14, Twitter made the announcement, tweeting: "We're removing Fleets on August 3, working on some new stuff. We're sorry or you're welcome." In a blog post, Ilya Brown, Twitter's head of product, said Fleets was built to be "a lower-pressure, ephemeral way people to share their fleeting thoughts," especially for new users to use the platform. However, Fleets didn't flourish, and it was mostly used by those "who are already Tweeting to amplify their own Tweets and talk directly with others," Brown said. Twitter explained how they "hoped Fleets would help more people feel comfortable joining the conversation on Twitter." However, the social media giant said they "havent seen an increase in the amount of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped." Brown said Twitter would conduct tests to incorporate features from the Fleets composer, including "the full-screen camera, text formatting options, and GIF stickers," into Twitter's product. 2 Twitter launched Fleets in November 2020 Credit: PA  If were not evolving our approach and winding down features every once in a while  were not taking big enough chances. Well 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," Brown added. Many Twitter users celebrated the news while taking the opportunity to request the ability to edit their messages. One person tweeted: "What are fleets?" Another person jokingly said: "Goodbye Fleets! We used you sparingly and it always felt like a chore. That being said, we will not miss you." A third person chimed in, saying, "I had no idea that fleets even existed." Another person wrote: "Everytime I have clicked on fleets, it was by accident ... always!" One person suggested Twitter should create an edit button, tweeting, "Fleets are being removed but Twitter is working on new features. Give us what we want. AN EDIT BUTTON!!!" Another person seemed to agree with creating an edit button, tweeting: "@Twitter while talking removing fleets can you please make it to where we can edit our tweets lol thank you."