Facebook: What is the real goal of the launch of Instagram Lite? | Trade | Technology and science | Social networks

While Facebook is less and less accepted, Instagram is gaining popularity. Mark Zuckerberg's social network has for some time been strengthening the photography platform with many tools. But for it to continue to grow, it needs developing countries. That's why Instagram Lite appeared.

Since Thursday, Google Play offers Instagram Lite, a lightweight version of the social network that allows you to save space on your phone and download it quickly. It weighs only 573 kilobytes (1/55 the size of the original version of 32 MB), which allows more people to use it and earn a billion more users.

"Lite" versions are trendy in recent years. In 2015 he appeared Facebook Lite so that in two years he added 200 million users to the social network. Its success has made it possible to offer Messenger Lite in April 2018. For its part, Uber launched its own "Lite" version early June

Instagram already has a billion users. It has grown by 100 million users every four months and comes largely from developing countries. These are markets that Snapchat has neglected to target on US teenagers and that have allowed the boom of its competitor in countries like Brazil and India.

A lite version of the application solves many of the disadvantages of users in the developing world: old or low space smartphones, slow network connections or inability to pay large data packets.

The social network can generate revenue if it decides to include advertising in its lite version. It's only a possibility while it's initially tested in Mexico since this week. And by the end of the year it will expand to more countries to include messaging and video publishing features, currently absent.

Instagram Lite has the ability to publish photos with or without filters in the feed or Stories, look at Stories and browse the Explorer tab. And it is available only to users with a device that works with the Android operating system.

In addition to its light version, Instagram has the IGTV platform, a tool that can help the social network to be adopted faster by emerging markets. And the help of a revamped web version thinking of developing countries.