Facebook rolls out Facebook Lite in the US and several other new countries

Facebook Lite is a version of Facebook specifically designed for developing countries. The version is now being rolled out in a number of more countries including developed countries such as the United States.

Facebook Lite is designed to run on 2G networks. The lite version is meant for people with older Android devices or slower Internet connections. Messenger Lite is a companion version of Messenger with the same purpose. Those with slower mobile data connections even in developed countries will find Facebook Lite useful.

Facebook Lite was first launched in 2015

Then the version was tested in a number of countries: Bangladesh, Nepal Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. However, it is now available in over 100 countries..

Other countries besides the U.S. included in the new rollout are: Canada, Australia, U.K., France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand.

Facebook said: “We’ve seen that even in some developed markets people can have lower connectivity, so we want to make sure everyone has the option to use this app if they want.” The app became available for download yesterday.

The app will be available for download from Thursday.

Facebook has always tried to cater to customers who have poor internet connections. Facebook Lite provides a dedicated app for this purpose. It is just 252 kilobytes in size and designed specifically to work on 2G networks and places where there is poor connectivity.

App may help Facebook keep growing

In order to increase its customer base, Facebook needs to attract users where connectivity is poor. There are cheap phones becoming available in developing countries and prices are failing to as little as $30 a device. Countries such as Bangladesh, Nigeria and Vietnam are among the countries where smartphone use is growing fastest. Not surprisingly, these are among the countries Facebook Lite will serve. Creating a 2G-optimized app for Androic applications makes good sense for Facebook.

Facebook Lite can be downloaded free here and at a number of other sites.

Previously published in Digital Journal