Facebook Lite, a stripped-down version of the Facebook app exclusively for Android users, is now available to download in the UK.
It first launched in 2015, but has only just rolled out to people in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand.
Facebook Lite is designed to work well across all network conditions − including 2G connections − and munch through less data than the full-fat version of the Facebook app.
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It offers many of the site’s core features too, including the ability to find people, business pages and events, post status updates and comments, and share photos.
“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,” said Facebook, Reuters reports.
Its interface is cleaner than that of the regular Facebook app, with slightly less blue trim and slimmer borders.
“More than a billion people around the world access Facebook from a range of mobile devices on varying networks. In many areas, networks can be slow and not able to support all the functionality found in Facebook for Android,” Facebook wrote when Lite was first announced.
“Facebook Lite was built for these situations, giving people a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum.”
In October, Facebook brought Messenger Lite − a slimmed-down version of Messenger − to the UK, and it has proved popular with people who just want the ability to message their friends, and not play games with them or watch their Stories.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
