You may not must tweet to all of your followers (or the general public) sooner or later. Twitter is testing a “Circle” function that allows you to restrict tweets to a gaggle of as many as 150 folks. It’s a not-so-subtle parallel to Instagram’s Close Friends — you may ask for recommendation or share a private occasion with out unwelcome commentary.

The firm advised Engadget Circle is already accessible to a “small group” of Android, iOS and internet customers worldwide. It’s not but clear if or when Twitter may increase the check to a wider viewers, though that may probably hinge on suggestions.

Circle joins quite a few options meant to regulate the attain of Twitter posts, together with an choice to limit who can reply. It may assist Twitter compete with Instagram and different providers that allow you to be extra selective about content material sharing, and may enable you to shield your privateness with out resorting to direct messages or a small follower checklist.

At the identical time, there’s a concern Circle may exacerbate echo chambers. If you continuously restrict discussions to a small clique, you is perhaps much less inclined to tweet to a bigger crowd or see what your extra distant connections are saying. Even so, extra granularity is perhaps appreciated at a time when it is all too simple to be overwhelmed.