Facebook Kills Off Slimmed Down 'Facebook Lite' App Due to Low Adoption - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Facebook Kills Off Slimmed Down 'Facebook Lite' App Due to Low Adoption

by

facebook iconFacebook Lite, the social network's slimmed down app for low speed connections and low-spec phones, is being deactivated, reports MacMagazine.

Facebook Lite was designed to work on poor internet connections like 2G networks or in rural areas with a bad signal, mainly by not downloading high resolution images or autoplaying videos, and the app could be used on older phones at the expense of excluding some features.

The streamlined app appeared alongside a Lite version of Messenger in 2018, first launching in Turkey, before rolling out to more regions and territories.

However, users in Brazil who opened the Lite variant of the app on Tuesday were met with the following message (translation).

Facebook Lite for iOS will be disabled.

You can use the original Facebook app to keep in touch with friends and family.

facebook lite

Image credit: Twitter user @DalvaVeronica

MacMagazine confirmed that the Facebook Lite app is no longer on the App Store, unlike Messenger Lite, which is still available.

"Due to the limited adoption and improvements we are making to improve the experience for people in our apps, we will no longer support Facebook Lite for iOS," said a Facebook spokesperson.

Facebook has long been regarded by some users as a unnecessarily bloated app. The full-fat Facebook app for iPhone 11 is a not-insubstantial 244.7MB, whereas Facebook Lite was a relatively paltry 8.7MB in comparison.

Tags: Brazil, Facebook

Top Rated Comments

I
ian87w
74 months ago
Facebook just realized the lite version is not sucking as much user data as they wanted.

I encouraged people to not even install the Facebook app. Just bookmark the website and put it on your home screen if you really must have a Facebook icon on your phone.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0815 Avatar
0815
74 months ago
Why an extra app for that? Couldn’t any app detect bad network and behave like that? Or as simple as having a checkbox to enable a mode like that?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T'hain Esh Kelch Avatar
T'hain Esh Kelch
74 months ago
There was a light version that didn't autoplay videos or download tons of images I wouldn't care about anyway? Darn, I would have loved that!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mike...
74 months ago
I don't think Facebook Lite was ever available here in the UK. No wonder people don't use it, if most of the world can't even get it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
adrianlondon
74 months ago
When this first came out I created a Turkish app store ID and downloaded it. I only wanted to use it for sending messages, but the app couldn't do that and required the usual Messages app (which I didn't have installed).

Now, I use Facebook in Safari with "request desktop version" set which allows Messages to be read/sent. The FB apps are stupidly huge and update too frequently (with no useful release notes).
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeoStructural Avatar
GeoStructural
74 months ago
The installer is 250 MB but the app will quickly grow to 1GB+, it is a bloated mess but it is even worst in Documents & Data collection. Sometimes I have had to uninstall it to get back some storage.

I use it for my business, I don’t like it personally but it has a good reach. Opening through Safari instead of the native app is a storage saver, however they get very annoying randomly asking you to download the app.



Facebook app has 250 MBs??? Of code?? What the hell?
Packing all sort of trackers baby... Well, most apps have grown this big lately. I also think this is the size of all the versions for different devices, your actual installer is smaller.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments