Twitter Circle is in testing for the tweets you’d rather keep to ‘select people’

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

We've seen hints of the upcoming edit tweets feature leak out, but the pending acquisition hasn't put a freeze on all product testing. The company has announced a limited test. If you have been around for a while, it is a function that is similar to the Close Friends feature on Facebook.

Users will be able to pick up up to 150 people to join their Circle. They pull up the Choose Audience menu when they feel like they're not sharing enough, and then they choose the circle instead of everyone. Circle is just a standard tweets that aren't available for everyone, which is why it is different from its Communities, which also hide away in an attempt to prevent context collapse.

Image: Twitter

Some Tweets are for everyone & others are just for people you’ve picked.



We’re now testing Twitter Circle, which lets you add up to 150 people who can see your Tweets when you want to share with a smaller crowd.



Some of you can create your own Twitter Circle beginning today! pic.twitter.com/nLaTG8qctp

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) May 3, 2022

It's a way to have the same privacy as a locked account, but only for people who follow it. People who are members of your Circle will be able to see the tweets you post to it, but they can't use the built-in retweet icon to share them. It's the same as if you had a locked account, except it varies based on the account you choose.

The guidelines for the test make it clear that the public can't see your tweets, but that doesn't mean there aren't rules. You can still be banned from the site if you violate its rules. The feature has been in the works since at least last year, with branding for the settings, and earlier this year with the name.

Only the person who created the Circle can see the list of people that are in it. They can use the feature on the web, as well as on the mobile devices. If you are in a Circle, you can remove yourself from it, but you can still keep a discussion going if it takes up too much of your time.