Facebook has launched a more straightforward version of its Android mobile app for users with slow or weak network connections and smaller data packages.
Facebook Lite, which it has been in testing since late January, launches in Asia this week and will roll out in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe over the coming weeks.
It has been designed for smartphone users in emerging markets who have limited bandwidth and limited budgets. The app is less than 1% the size of Facebooks primary mobile product.
An announcement on the company blog said: 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 Lite was built for these situations, giving people a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum.
Facebook Lite will not offer features like videos or nearby friends, but it will offer low-res images, News Feed, status updates and notifications.
