Facebook Lite Quietly Rolled Out In Emerging Markets

This article originally appeared on 60 Second Social.

1.6 billion people around the world take the latest and greatest smartphones for granted. Many of us don’t realise how lucky we are to be able to afford such beautiful phones and mobile devices and I say that judging from the state of the condition of how some people have their phones when they show them to me. Some of us don’t have the luxury of being able to afford the top end phones on the market, this is more than likely the reason why Facebook has quietly rolled out a Facebook Lite app.

Facebook Lite is a lightweight Android version of the flagship app and is now available in eight countries. It is nowhere near as sleek as the main app however it is not intended to be sleek. This app is built to do a job, simple as that. Lite is designed to be “efficient with data” and “designed for 3G networks and areas with limited connectivity.”

Installing the app takes up less than 1MB of space on phones, a fraction of the 27MB needed for the full app. Facebook Lite has been made available in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Much of the growth on this app will of course come from developing countries where Lite is now officially available and will no doubt expand into further developing countries. Facebook is of course trying to capitalise on those newbie smartphone owners in these countries as it seeks to get more people spending more time on the platform.

About The Author

Mark is the founder of 60 Second Social media where he provides social media news and digital marketing analysis, he is also a proud father of his bearded dragon, Lola. You can follow him on Twitter here. You can also follow 60 Second Social on Twitter here.