Fleets are a new addition to Twitter — they give you an Instagram Stories-like way to send temporary tweets to your Twitter followers.
Once you post a Fleet, it'll last for exactly 24 hours, and then disappear forever. Twitter appears to hope users will use fleets to start short-lived conversations and express casual thoughts that don't deserve the permanence of ordinary tweets.
But although Twitter is emphasizing that fleets are short, it's not clear exactly how short they're supposed to be. Here's what you should know about the timing of your fleets.
How long fleets can be on Twitter
The length of your fleets will depend on what format they're in.
A single text- or image-based fleet will display for about six seconds — Twitter hasn't revealed the exact timing, so this is just based on stopwatch testing. This also applies to fleets created by sharing an existing tweet.
Meanwhile, videos can be up to 30 seconds long. You can upload longer videos, but you'll have to cut out a 30 second clip to share.
But every fleet you create within the same 24-hour period gets combined into chapters, so when a user opens your fleet, each individual post plays back in sequence. You can see all the chapters of a fleet indicated at the top of the screen as it plays.
You can post up to 75 fleets within that 24-hour period, according to Twitter, and they'll play in order when opened.
Related coverage from Tech Reference:
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How to post a Fleet on Twitter in 2 ways, and share temporary text, pictures, or videos
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How to see your lists on Twitter, subscribe to a list, or remove yourself from a list
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How to make Twitter appear in dark mode to reduce battery strain on your computer or mobile device
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How to limit replies to your Twitter posts, so that no account or only certain accounts can reply
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How to add alt text to images on Twitter so that they can be read with screen readers
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How to clear your Twitter cache on a mobile device to make the app run more efficiently
