www.rancakmedia.com – Facebook announced Wednesday that it is rolling out a “lite” version of Instagram in 170 countries, allowing people with poor internet access to the social networking service to share photos and videos.
Instagram Lite will be available for Android-based phones and requires less bandwidth than the traditional version.
The app itself takes up just 2MB – versus 30MB for Instagram – and even runs on slower 2G networks, so customers in parts of India, Africa, Asia and Latin America with older internet infrastructure can access the service.
“This is a market where there is the greatest need,” said Tzach Hadar, director of product management at Facebook in Tel Aviv, where most of the apps are developed.
“Use much less data. So if you have a small data package, you will not run out of breath using this service. However, the goal is for us to have the same experience you get on Instagram,” he said. Reuters.
Hadar, Facebook’s head of research and development in Israel, said the 170 countries did not represent a full global rollout, but “it’s a step along the way”.
He found that apart from TV and Roles – for creating and sharing short video clips – Instagram Lite retains most of the main features of Instagram.
The lite version of Facebook itself has been available worldwide for five years.
In addition to the Lite version, Facebook has developed a WiFi Express service in Tel Aviv to enable Internet access in about 20 countries in Africa, Asia and South America.
Hadar said his team is now working on a digital wallet for Facebook. “They have nearly 2 billion people with no or limited access to banking and financial services, and tens of billions of dollars spent in fees for migrants who want to send money back to their families,” he said.
Another initiative is a Facebook store for small businesses to sell products online.
Facebook’s research and development center in Tel Aviv opened in 2022 after hiring Israeli mobile app maker Onavo for an estimated $150 million (about Rs. 1,090 billion) – $200 million (about $1,460 billion). Rupee).
