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Today we come together in memory of one of us, Instagram Lite. Born in 2018, the lite version of one of Facebooks oldest children has been discontinued.
Instagram Lite: Why We Loved You…
The app, which weighed a mere 573KB, was 1/55th the size of the original app at 33MB. The slimmed-down Instagram Lite app allowed users to filter and post photos to a feed or to Stories, and to browse the Explore page for more content. Typically the most important parts of Instagram. However, it lacked the option to post videos or direct-message friends upon arrival. But that did not matter to most. It saved us bundles and we are eternally grateful.
Reports confirm that the highly ranked app vanished from the Google Play charts on April 13 in the countries where it was active. This includes Kenya, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines.
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What Happened?
The app’s low install size and bandwidth requirements helped it fare well in these countries where it was available. However, it never reached India or other major markets where you’d normally expect such an app to pop up.
In a statement to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed the rollback of the app:
We are rolling back the test of the Instagram Lite app. You can start using the latest version of Instagram instead to connect with the people and things you love.
The company is likely taking feedback from this Instagram Lite ‘test,’ to develop a new version of it. But it didn’t specify when it might launch this new app. Instagram Lite was not the only lite app available. Facebook made Lite versions of its apps for its social network and Messenger available years ago. Twitter has one too,
For now, if you try to open the Lite app, you will be redirected to the regular Instagram app. That is if you don’t want to resort to the web client. The software is also unavailable in the PlayStore.
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