Social media giant, Facebook, has launched a lite version of its photo-sharing application, Instagram Lite in Nigeria and some other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the social media giant, a light-weight version of the Instagram app weighing less than 2MB in size will now be available for download across 170 countries.
Instagram Lite takes less time (few seconds) to download and install on a device; and since it’s a light-weight app, loads pretty much faster than the regular app.
Although it may be very light in terms of size, the lite app functions just like the normal Instagram app and gives the same experience both speed wise and in terms of reliability.
Interestingly, the new lite version of the Instagram app is compactable with any device, platform and network in use.
Speaking on the need to introduce a light version of the Instagram app, Sub-Saharan Engineering Manager for Instagram Lite, Peter Shin commented thus;
“Connectivity in the region can be unstable, slow and expensive, making it challenging for people to have a high-quality Instagram experience,” Shin said.
“Many people were already familiar with the concept of a Lite app after the successful roll-out of Facebook Lite some years ago.
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“We started testing the new version of Instagram Lite when people across the continent started asking for a Lite app for Android. The feedback was very positive and we are excited to launch it across the continent today.
“Our team aims to leave no one behind, so today we are very excited to bring Instagram Lite to people in over 170 countries, including the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region,” he added.
Instagram Lite misses out in some feature
Being a new development, it is only normal to expect the lite app to miss out on some notable features.
In this case, Instagram Lite does not have notable features like Reels, Shopping, and IGTV.
Although it is not clear if these features will be added in the future, their absence justifies the reason why the app could maintain its very low size of 2MB.
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Also, giving its little size, users with limited bandwidth or and with the high cost of data will find the app very appealing as there is little worry about connectivity and data consumption.
As for sustainability and availability, Facebook assured of its commitment to further improve the app as it makes it available for download in over 170 countries.
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