Facebook introduces Instagram Lite, promises less data in Africa, others

The popular social media platform, Facebook says it has launched Instagram Lite, a lightweight version of the original app for android which consumes less data, in Sub-Saharan Africa and other emerging markets.

A statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday said the Lite version will work well across network conditions.

“Instagram Lite not only works similarly to the Instagram app for Android, but it allows the experience to remain fast and reliable for more people, no matter what device, platform, and network they use,” the statement read.

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The Engineering Manager for Instagram Lite, Peter Shin, said:

“Connectivity in the region can be unstable, slow and expensive, making it challenging for people to have a high-quality Instagram experience.

“Many people were already familiar with the concept of a lite app after the successful roll-out of Facebook Lite some years ago.

“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.”

Moreso, he noted that the company’s most important focus is to not leave anybody behind. Adding that the company was excited to launch Instagram Lite in over 170 countries, including the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Conclusively, he noted that Instagram Lite is likely to gain appeal to users in locations with limited bandwidth or high data costs, especially in the developing world.