Facebook has officially unveiled a new app for Android phones, which is intended to assist those without reliable internet service gain access to the social network.
The Facebook Lite app for Android, which the company began testing in January, is designed to consume less data than its forebear, enabling it to work well across a variety of network conditions.
Just like the main app it’ll offer access to core experiences like News Feed, status updates, photos and notifications and judging by the screenshot posted on Monday, it’ll feature the annexed Facebook Messenger platform.
The super-lightweight app, which will begin rolling out today in countries across Asia, is a sub-1MB download, meaning it can be installed quick as a flash, even in areas with limited connectivity.
In the post on the Facebook Newsroom site the company wrote: “More than a billion people around the world access Facebook from a range of mobile devices on varying networks.
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Read more: Facebook drones will bring the internet to everyone
Other the next few weeks it’ll arrive in parts of Africa, Europe and Latin America too. The launch is part of Facebook’s Internet.org drive to bring connectivity to the most remote parts of the world. The company plans to sent an army of drones airborne to help connect the estimate four billion people around the world without access.
While this new app is designed for those in remote areas, many folks wishing to trim their data consumption would surely wish to make use of Facebook Lite. Whether the social network ever offers that option remains to be seen.
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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.
