Facebook launches Instagram Lite in Sub-Saharan Africa, other emerging markets

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

Facebook, on Friday in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the Instagram Lite version worked well across all network conditions.

It said Instagram Lite for Android was less than 2MB in size, making it fast to install and quick to load.

It also said the lite version had improved speed, performance, and responsiveness.

“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 noted.

Commenting, 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,” Shin said.

He noted that the company’s focus was to leave no one behind, adding that the company was excited to launch Instagram Lite in over 170 countries, including the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Shinsaid although Instagram Lite was similar to the original app experience, some features were not currently supported, such as Reels creation, Shopping, and IGTV.

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