Following the footsteps of its parent company Facebook, Instagram has now come up with a Lite version of its original app, dubbed as Instagram Lite. The application is already live on Google Play Store, but you can't just download the app at the moment as it's limited to a few countries. Instagram Lite is just 573KB in size which is way lesser than the original app' size of 32MB. Instagram is yet to make an official announcement, which might happen in the coming days. But for now, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing a new lightweight app for developing countries, and the list might include India too.
Instagram Lite, as the name itself suggests doesn't offer all the features of the main app. “The Instagram Lite app is small, allowing you to save space on your phone and download it quickly” the Google Play Store description of the app reads. The Instagram Lite app offers all the primary features of the platform such as uploading photos, viewing the newsfeed, but it lacks the newly launched features such as IGTV integration, no Direct Messaging option and others. Also, with Instagram Lite, you won't be able to upload videos to the platform, which is understandable.
Having said that, the Instagram Lite app is aimed at developing countries where users will be on older smartphones with less internal storage, poor network connectivity and others. This app will solve all the issues as it's lightweight at just 573KB, loads faster than the main application and consumes less data when compared to the standard Instagram app.
Last month, Instagram revamped the mobile site with better design and faster load time, which again is aimed at developed countries. An Instagram spokesperson also confirmed that Instagram is testing the app in Mexico at the moment and will be expanded to more countries later this year. Also, the Google Play Store error reads the app is 'This Item is Not Available in Your Country.' Maybe once the APK comes out, we can sideload it to the smartphone in India. It's also confirmed that the Lite version will receive Messaging and video posting features going forward.
Very recently, Instagram joined the big league of Facebook services with over one billion active users on a monthly basis. Other Facebook services such as Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp already crossed one billion active user mark last year.
