Instagram launched its smaller Lite app in 2018 just to get it out of the Play Store in the spring of last year. The app is now starting with new features and a slightly larger file size. Instagram announced today that the app will launch on Android to 170 countries, including the US, through the Play Store, and that the new app requires only two megabytes, compared to the regular Instagram app’s 30 MB. (However, the original Lite app only needed 573 kilobytes, so it’s definitely bigger than that.) No iOS version is currently planned.
However, this larger size allows for new features, including the ability to send instant messages and record and post videos. It also prominently includes the Reels tab on the home page, while leaving the Store tab.
In an information session, Nick Lite product manager Nick Brown said that the team had “no plans” to bring shopping to Instagram Lite, but that Reels had “a lot of involvement” in India, so the team decided to take the plunge to keep in this. repetition of the Lite app. (TikTok is currently banned in India and has reduced its team there, so Reels had the chance to flourish without the competition.) However, users cannot make their own roles from the app. They also cannot use augmented reality face filters, although the team is “absolutely” investigating this. Other, less data-intensive creation tools, such as stickers, GIFs, and text, can still be applied.
The app does not currently have ads, although Brown says so The edge that the team ‘is committed to providing the full range of monetization tools.’ He and the team want to ‘take the space and time – that everything we’ve launched in Lite can fully support us and that it’s just as good as in regular Instagram.’
Many companies have introduced smaller versions of their applications for users around the world who can share phones or use older devices with less storage. Facebook launched its Lite app in 2015, while TikTok launched its version in 2019. For companies that need to be global to grow, a smaller app is one way to bring new users on board.