Facebook's data-saving Android app is coming to the U.S.
Facebook is finally bringing one of its most popular apps to the U.S.
Facebook Lite, the company's data-conserving Android app, originally created for developing markets, will launch in the U.S. on Friday, Reuters reports. The app will also become available in the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Originally launched in 2015, Facebook Lite was designed for markets where conditions make the full-featured app nearly impossible to use. Facebook Lite works on slow 2G connections and on handsets running outdated versions of Android.
The app quickly became one of the social network's most popular. It had 200 million monthly users as of a year ago, and has been downloaded more than 650 million times globally, according to data from analytics company Sensor Tower.
“To help everyone have a great Facebook experience regardless of where they connect or the bandwidth they have, in many countries we rolled out Facebook Lite as a standalone, native app with features such as News Feed, status updates, push notifications, and camera/photo integration," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
"We are now offering Facebook Lite in even more countries, so anyone has the power of a native app while still being lightweight,” the company added.
However, even though most of the U.S. doesn't face the same connectivity challenges present in other parts of the world, there are other reasons why you might want to use the app stateside.
It uses far less data than the main Facebook app, which is notoriously a data hog. If you're worried about going over your data cap because Facebook uses too much data in the background, then the lite version of the app may be just what you need.
It could also be a good solution for people who just aren't that keen on using Facebook in the first place. The "lite" version of the app has core features like News Feed, profiles, and notifications, but strips out a lot of the app's polish and extra features, like Marketplace and Facebook Watch.
With only the bare-bones features, you're probably less likely to spend a lot of extra time scrolling through the app.
Topics Facebook Social Media
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
