Bug results in Twitter ‘Fleets’ remaining visible after 24 hours

Twitter launched its “Fleets” — ephemeral messages — on Nov. 17, long after Snapchat and Instagram. Image: AFP/OLIVIER DOULIERY.

When Twitter launched “Fleets,” the social network did not expect to hit a snag like this. The social networking platform launched its disappearing stories, inspired by Instagram and Snapchat, less than a week ago. However, it seems that Fleets’ URLs remain accessible after the 24-hour limit.

According to information revealed by TechCrunch, followed by The Verge on Nov. 22, these messages, which are supposed to be ephemeral, remain somehow visible. A Twitter user even showed that these stories can be downloaded by other users without triggering a notification to the fleet’s author.

A Twitter user exposed this bug on Nov. 21, by simply indicating in a series of tweets how to access these fleets via their URLs.

https://twitter.com/donk_enby/status/1330074324271763457

While these ephemeral messages remain visible on the Twitter user’s timeline only for 24 hours, the social network stores them during 30 days, or longer if they break Twitter rules.

The Verge also indicated that “The +seen by+ action is typically only available when someone views a fleet via the Twitter app.”

“We are working on a fix that should be rolled out shortly,” a Twitter spokesperson told TechCrunch. CC

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