Facebook is back with another version of Instagram Lite after the company shut the lightweight app earlier this year. Instagram Lite is a lightweight version of the main photo and video sharing app Instagram that is optimized for devices with fewer resources and users in areas with unstable connections.
The company has plans to reintroduce the app again and is taking it to India, one of its key markets, for testing.
“With the test of Instagram Lite and the next edition of Born on Instagram, we’re aiming to democratize expression and creativity for a greater number of people in India,” Vishal Shah, VP of Product at Instagram said at Facebook’s first ‘Fuel for India’ event.
Instagram Lite weighs less than 2MB and will help the company further expand its userbase. The previous version of Instagram Lite mainly operated in emerging markets including Kenya, Philippines and Peru.
At the time of shutdown in April, it was ranked as the number 8 app in Kenya under Google Play Store’s “Social” category, according to SensorTower, one of the most prominent analytics firm.
With the app’s return, the company will use India as a testbed “to gain valuable insights before a global rollout of Instagram Lite.”
“Lite” apps are popular in emerging markets where the majority of users cannot afford to splurge cash on high-end smartphones that are rich in memory and storage or don’t have access to fast and cheap internet.
Most popular social media apps have lite apps including Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. The company has not yet pinned a date when InstagramLite will be launching.
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