‘NO ONE asked for this’: Twitter testing self-destructing post feature as users beg for ‘edit’ button instead

A new Twitter feature will auto-send posts down the memory hole after 24 hours – letting users share “fleeting” thoughts without “anxiety,” the company says – even as many users are still begging for the long-sought edit button.

The self-destruct feature, dubbed “Fleets,” will initially roll out in Brazil only. The platform’s product lead Kayvon Beykpour says this will allow users who “don’t feel comfortable” sharing their thoughts to do so while being insulated from replies, feedback or criticism.

Though fleets may save some especially un-woke netizens from bans or suspensions in an era of PC Twitter mobs and aggressive ‘cancel culture,’ the idea has already been widely panned nonetheless, with some users declaring it the death knell of the platform.

After years of pleas, requests, even demands, for a simple edit button – found on virtually all other social media platforms – many were up in arms over the new and seemingly useless feature, especially since it, too, is commonplace elsewhere.

“Who asked for this?” many wondered aloud.

A number of users had already written off anyone who would use the new auto-deleting posts – if they ever reach the world beyond Brazil, that is – one insisting it was proof of cowardice and that tweeters should “commit” to their posts and “live with” the aftermath.

Twitter is late to the game with the feature, akin to the ‘Stories’ function long available on Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp, but it remains to be seen whether it will be rolled out to all users amid the wave of negative feedback – since so many apparently hope that, much like the Fleets themselves, it will disappear without a trace.

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