Twitter Fleets Bug Allowed Deleted Posts to Remain Accessible
Twitter’s ephemeral content feature, Fleets, faced a critical bug just days after its launch—disappearing posts weren’t actually disappearing as intended. Here’s what happened and how Twitter responded.
The Fleets Feature Explained
Twitter Fleets, launched in November 2020, allowed mobile users to post:
- Short-lived photos or videos
- Text overlays
- Content that automatically vanished after 24 hours
Modeled after Instagram Stories, this feature represented Twitter’s entry into the disappearing content space.
The Critical Bug Discovery
Security researchers discovered a significant vulnerability:
- Fleets remained accessible via direct URLs after expiration
- Content could be downloaded without notifying the original poster
- The bug enabled potential archiving of supposedly temporary content
Technical details emerged through Twitter’s API, showing that expired Fleets still returned media URLs when queried through third-party tools.
Twitter’s Response and Fix
When contacted by TechCrunch, Twitter confirmed:
“We’re aware of a bug accessible through a technical workaround where some Fleets media URLs may be accessible after 24 hours. We are working on a fix that should be rolled out shortly.”
The company noted that while Fleets would properly expire from public view, they might remain on Twitter’s servers for:
- Up to 30 days normally
- Longer periods if content violated platform rules
Why This Mattered
This bug raised important questions about:
- User privacy: Expectations vs. reality of “disappearing” content
- Platform transparency: How social media companies handle data retention
- Feature testing: The importance of thorough security reviews before major rollouts
Twitter eventually discontinued Fleets in 2021, but this incident served as an important case study in ephemeral content implementation.
For more details on Twitter’s original Fleets announcement, see our coverage of the initial rollout.
