Twitter Circle may start rolling out to more users

Twitter began testing Circle with a limited group earlier this month, and now it looks like it's rolling out to more users (via Android Police). This feature works much like Instagram's Close Friends, as it allows users to send tweets to a specific group of people instead of Twitter.

Right now, it's not clear how many people currently have access to Circle. It looks like more users (myself included) are finally seeing the feature pop up when they start composing a tweet, but some users still report not having access. Twitter spokesman Joseph Nunez told The Verge that it is still in testing. “We are still testing Twitter Circles globally with a bunch of people on iOS, Android and the web,” Nunez said. "The feature hasn't rolled out widely to everyone yet as we continue to collect feedback."

To check if you have access to Twitter Circle, update your Twitter app or visit Twitter in a web browser. When you start composing a Tweet, you'll see a dropdown menu at the top with Write Everyone. From here, you can choose Twitter Circle to limit your tweets to a select audience, or you can hit Edit to add or remove people from your circle. If you add or remove users, Twitter will not notify them.

You can add up to 150 users to your circle, whether they follow you or not. Users in your circle will only see a note attached to the circle's Tweets (and vice versa) that reads: "Only people in the Twitter circle of @[yourusername] can view this Tweet." Tweeting to your circle is almost like having a private account, only it personalizes some tweets instead of limiting access to your entire profile.

People in your circle won't be able to retweet anything you post, but they can still screenshot and download your Tweets. It's also important to note that Twitter's Community Guidelines still apply even if you're sending your Tweets to a smaller audience.