PremiumFacebook has announced a new Instagram Lite version. The new version will be made available to users in countries with slower internet or bad connectivity. The company has announced that 170 countries will be getting this new Instagram Lite version. The new version is also expected to be available in India.
The new version of the app will initially be available only to Android phone users. The company claims that this version uses lesser bandwidth than the traditional version of the app.
According to a report by Reuters, the new Lite version of the application is just 2MB in size. In comparison, the standard version of the app is 30MB in size. The new version is expected to run on even 2G network speeds.
The new Lite version of the application will skip some features such as Reels and IGTV that use short video features.
According to the report, Tzach Hadar, director of product management at Facebook in Tel Aviv said, "These are the markets where there is the greatest need."
"It uses a lot less data so if you have a small data package you are not going to run out when you use the service. But the aim is for us to give the same breadth of experience you get on Instagram," he told Reuters.
Hadar, who heads Facebook's R&D in Israel, said 170 countries did not represent a full global launch, but "it's a step on the way."
