Twitter is working on a new feature that will allow users to send specific tweets to a small group of close friends in a parallel timeline on the social media network.
According to screens obtained by mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, the feature, previously dubbed “Trusted Friends,” will allow users to limit their audience for certain content to no more than 150 people.
When you send a tweet to your Flock, only those in the Flock may see and respond to it, and a label may show beneath the tweet that says, “You can see this Tweet because the author has added you to their Flock.” However, if you decide you no longer want someone in your Flock, you may boot them out and they will no longer receive notifications.
Before sending a tweet, Twitter will display an option to select the intended audience, allowing users to post to all of Twitter or just those in their Flock. In that respect, it is akin to Communities, a tool created by Twitter last year that allows individuals to share discussions on a certain topic.
The tool is currently in development, so it’s unclear when it will be available to all users, but Twitter has been working on it since at least July of last year. The flock should not be confused with “Fleets,” an ephemeral tweet option designed to compete with Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, Snapchat, and other services. Fleets never caught on with Twitter users, and the service was discontinued in August, less than a year after the feature launched.