June 29, 2018
Last week Instagram announced that they’ve hit the 1 billion user mark and they launched IGTV. This week, they’ve released a stripped-down ‘Lite’ version of the app for Android users. Is there anything they aren’t doing at the moment to win more followers?
Instagram Lite aims to target emerging markets where mobile coverage is patchy and data expensive, therefore, areas where Instagram are currently likely to have fewer users. Released on the Google Play Store, the tiny app is only 573KB in size which is 1/55th the size of Instagram’s 32MB main app. It takes up considerably less space on a device and uses less data.
The release follows Instagram’s revamp of their mobile website last month, similarly designed for developing countries. Although Lite is teeny tiny storage wise and the functionality is slightly reduced, the main features are still there, so you’re able to post photos and share and view Stories.
It’s still going through testing phases so is currently only available in Mexico, however, it should expand to more markets later this year and potentially even introduce messaging and video posting capabilities.
Facebook Lite launched in 2015 and was successful, with 200 million users by 2017, so hopefully Instagram Lite will follow suit. It’s good to see platforms are looking for ways of opening the door for developing regions. We’re wondering how long it will take Snapchat to jump on the bandwagon and follow in their footsteps…