Twitter has been testing out a new feature that resembles Instagram’s Close Friends feature ”“ which basically allows users to post stories exclusively to certain people they choose on the platform ”“. This new feature is called Circles and looks like it’s rolling out to more users on both iOS and Android platforms (via Android Police).
Twitter spokesperson Joseph Nunez told The Verge that the feature is currently in testing, with roll-out soon on both iOS and Android:
“We are still currently testing Twitter Circle with a group of people across iOS, Android and Web globally. The feature has not rolled out widely to everyone yet as we continue to gather feedback.”Â
Twitter Circles will allow users to tweet to certain people they would want to show exclusively. The feature could be accessed when you start writing a tweet and a drop-down menu that reads Everyone.
There, you’ll be able to choose either the former or Twitter Circle, limiting the tweet’s exposure to the number of people you select on the platform. Next to the option, you can also find an Edit button to add or remove people in your circle. Twitter won’t notify the people you add or remove.
People you add to your circle won’t be able to retweet your tweet, however, they can just screenshot and save your tweet on their device if they want to. The feature is pretty similar to Super Tweets but it’s free.
The social platform is slowly rolling the feature out as it tests it on numerous accounts. To check if you have the feature, update your Twitter app to the latest version (on iOS it’s 9.12.2 as of the writing of this article), open the app, start a tweet, click on the Everyone menu, and check if Twitter Circles appear.