Facebook Says It Will Launch Instagram Lite In Countries With Poor Internet Connection

Facebook announced to the public on March 10 that it will be launching Instagram Lite in countries that are experiencing poor internet connection.

The said version of the popular social media site was created to enable netizens to view photos and videos even if their internet bandwidth is low.

Around 170 countries will benefit from this new initiative of Facebook. Instead of requiring 30 megabytes (MB) for Instagram, the lite version will only require 2 MB. It can also run even on slower 2G networks.

Tzach Hadar, the director of product management at Facebook in Tel Aviv, said people would not quickly run out of data if they use the lite version of Instagram.

However, despite lowering the data requirement, Facebook assured that users of Instagram Lite would also get "high quality" experience just like how it is in the main app.

As reported by The Korea Herald, the targeted countries for the much-awaited launching of Instagram Lite are located in Africa, Asia, and even Latin America.

"These are the markets where there is the greatest need," Hadar quipped.

"Our teams build these lightweight versions of our apps for people with low connectivity or limited data plans because our basic premise is to leave no one behind. We wanted the Instagram experience to remain fast, high-quality, and reliable, irrespective of the device, platform, and network people are on," he also commented.

With regards to future plans and endeavors, Hadar revealed in a report by gadgets.ndtv.com that Facebook is now looking into creating a digital wallet for people who have limited access to financial services or institutions.

The giant American company is aware that billions of dollars are being spent all over the world for fees whenever people send money to their loved ones. This is one of the main reasons why they decided to explore possible ways to be of help to their customers.