While Facebook users in the developed world don’t really have to worry about the ludicrous amounts of data that the social network’s mobile app sucks up, that isn’t the case for users living in developing nations like Nigeria or Vietnam where spotty 2G networks are far more common. The good news is that Facebook has addressed this issue with a new app: Facebook Lite.
Not content with spinning out apps for stickers inside Messenger, Groups and new addition Rooms, Facebook has launched another standalone app. Facebook Lite, which some may recall as a simplified version of its mobile website from 2009-2010, is specifically designed for low-end Android devices in emerging markets. TechCrunch understands that the app was quietly launched in a handful of countries in Asia and Africa over the weekend — Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe to be precise — where it is being testing with a view to further expansions. That said, a wider launch is not a certainty and Facebook could quietly can the project if it doesn’t believe it is worth pursuing.
