Twitter Circles allows you to post tweets to smaller groups

Twitter takes on Instagram: App launches ‘Close Friends’ copy Circles that allows you to post tweets to smaller groups of people

Twitter has rolled out the Circle feature to all users on app and the web browser
A Circle is a group of up to 150 Twitter accounts that can view a user’s content
Users can choose whether to make a Tweet visible to all or just their Circle
The feature is similar to the ‘Close Friends’ on rival platform Instagram

Twitter has made its ‘Circle’ feature available to all users for the first time, which allows users to tweet to smaller groups of people.

It has been in testing among select users since May, but the social media platform has now rolled it out to everyone on both its Android and iOS apps and via web browsers.

Circle enables users to build a group of up to 150 followers, and choose on a tweet-by-tweet basis whether to post something publicly or just to the Circle.

This works in a similar way to the ‘Close Friends’ feature on Instagram, where users choose whether to share their Story with all their followers or just a select few.

Anyone can be added to a Circle, even if they do not follow the person who set it up, and they will be able to view all the Tweets and replies shared within it.

Circle enables users to build a group of up to 150 followers, and choose on a tweet-by-tweet basis whether to post something publicly or just to the Circle

When a user goes to compose a Tweet, they can click the drop-down menu at the top that defaults as ‘Everyone’ and press ‘Twitter Circle’ to make it only visible to that group

HOW TO USE TWITTER CIRCLE

How to edit your Circle:

1. Go to compose a Tweet

2. Click the ‘Everyone’ button

3. Click ‘Edit’ button, next to the ‘Circle’ option

4. You can then search for new accounts and add them to the Circle, or remove previously added accounts

How to change your Tweet’s audience:

1. Go to compose a Tweet

2. Click the ‘Everyone’ button

3. Click ‘Circle’

4. Complete the Tweet, and it will only be available to those in your Circle

When a user goes to compose a Tweet, they can click the drop-down menu at the top that defaults as ‘Everyone’ and press ‘Circle’.

This will ensures that only those they have chosen to be in their Circle will be able to view that Tweet on their Timeline.

The ‘Edit’ button that appears next to the Circle button allows them to add or remove Twitter users from the list.

They will not receive a notification letting them know this, however those included will see a green badge underneath posts exclusive to the Circle.

This reads: ‘Only people in @[username]’s Twitter Circle can see this tweet’

Currently, each Twitter account can only have one Circle group, and those included in it cannot choose to leave it themselves.

Thus in order to stop being a part of a Circle, that user would need to unfollow or block the account that created it.

The feature is intended to allow users to get more privacy when sharing their thoughts on the social media platform.

However they must still abide to the Community Guidelines and it does not stop others from screenshotting posts limited to the Circle.

Twitter said the response from testing so far had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

In a blog post they said: ‘With Twitter Circle, people now have the flexibility to choose who can see and engage with their content on a tweet-by-tweet basis. This makes it easier to have more intimate conversations and build closer connections with select followers,’ the company said in a blog post.

‘We want to ensure everyone on Twitter has the choice, control, tools, and transparency to join the conversation how and when they want, and Twitter Circle is another important step in that direction.

‘Giving people the option to share thoughts with a select group of followers helps make tweeting more accessible.

‘This is true whether you’re brand new to Twitter or you have millions of followers.’

Users have taken to Twitter itself to express their thoughts about the new feature.

One user said: ‘Real OGs don’t use Twitter Circle. They tweet their thoughts unfiltered and without fear.’

Another joked: ‘Who needs Twitter Circle when people aren’t reading your tweets anyway?’

During its testing, Twitter had noted that accounts using Circle were tweeting more often and tweets posted within a Circle were receiving increased engagement in the form of more likes and replies.

Users have taken to Twitter itself to express their thoughts about the new feature

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