Twitter Circle, a ‘Close Friends’-like feature, is testing

Twitter Circle, the app’s spin on an Instagram-like “Close Friends” feature, is finally testing. The feature was teased as one of many potential product updates in July, and last month, it cropped up live on the site due to a bug. Now, a small number of users can shitpost to their 150 closest friends as the feature enters a live testing phase.

Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch

Twitter says that the feature is in its early stages, which is why only some users have access. Even if you yourself can’t make a Twitter Circle, you can see tweets from users who do have the feature, so long as you’re in their Circle, of course. When you build your Circle, Twitter will recommend that you add mutuals that you interact with often (odds are, those people might be your close friends). You can add people who aren’t following you, but they probably won’t see your tweet since … they aren’t following you.

When you reply to a tweet that someone sent out to their Circle, other members of the Circle can see your response and interact with it (unless if you’re on private).

When you add or remove people from your Twitter Circle, they won’t know, so don’t worry about accidentally sending out awkward notifications. Unlike Google+ Circles (RIP), you only get one Circle, so choose its purpose wisely.

To tweet to your Circle, click the oval above the text box when you’re writing a tweet, then change the audience from “Everyone” to “Twitter Circle,” the same way you would tweet to a Community.

We can only hope Elon Musk understands that SEC regulations apply to Twitter Circle tweets, too.