San Francisco, California - Twitter has announced a new function allowing users to send tweets and responses that automatically disappear after 24 hours, as part of an effort to get more hesitant users to share their "fleeting" thoughts.

"That thing you didn't tweet but wanted to but didn't but got so close but then were like nah. We have a place for that now - fleets," the platform said, announcing the launch on Tuesday.

Twitter is the latest social media giant to introduce disappearing messages, after WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.

Twitter says the aim is to make people "feel more comfortable" about sharing without the pressure of posting a permanent, public tweet.

The function rolls out globally after being tested in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea earlier this year.

Twitter says you can "fleet" text, photos and videos, as well as reactions to other tweets, and is planning to soon allow users to live broadcast through fleets.

In a similar effort to make users feel more comfortable about tweeting and minimize fears of online abuse and negative comments, Twitter recently began allowing users to limit who can comment on their tweets.

Like disappearing messages in other apps, fleets will sit on top of your timeline when you open up the Twitter app.

The self-destructing tweet function comes days after Facebook announced a new "vanish mode" for messages on Instagram and Messenger, which is already available in the United States and is set to arrive in other countries in the coming weeks.

On WhatsApp, a disappearing messages function has also started arriving on some devices, and is set to fully roll out globally in the course of November.