Facebook Lite is a parred down version of the social network's mobile app. It is designed as a way for people with older phones, limited data plans, or slow and intermittent internet connections to access Facebook.
On Thursday, Android users in the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand were able to download Facebook Lite.
Addressing slow or limited internet access is part of the company's ongoing quest to get the next billion people to sign up for Facebook (FB) accounts.
In 2009, the company launched Facebook Lite as a bare-bones version of its website. In 2015, it began offering Facebook Lite as an app. The app originally launched in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nigeria, Nepal, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and eventually expanded to more than 100 countries.
"We want everyone to have a great Facebook experience regardless of where they connect or the bandwidth they have access to," Facebook said in a statement. "Facebook Lite is now available in even more countries, so anyone can access Facebook features regardless of where they are connecting."
I tested Facebook Lite on an Android phone. The retro-looking design crams more onto the screen by using smaller text, less white space, and simplified graphics. It lacks the animated swiping and bouncing flourishes you might be used to from Facebook Heavy.
All the core Facebook features are present. You can like, comment on or share the posts in your feed, and upload photos and videos. Some power- and bandwidth-hogs are missing, including Facebook Live and the Watch section.
If you're not worried about data, struggling with shoddy internet connections, or using an old Android phone, there's not much advantage to using Lite. It's not unpleasant, but it probably won't help you cut down on Facebook usage.
Facebook is a social networking website where users can post comments, share photographs and post links to news or other interesting content on the web, chat live, and watch short-form video. You can even order food on Facebook if that's what you want to do. Shared content can be made publicly accessible, or it can be shared only among a select group of friends or family, or with a single person.
How It Began
Facebook began in February of 2004 as a school-based social network at Harvard University. It was created by Mark Zuckerberg along with Edward Saverin, both students at the college. It wasn't until 2006 that Facebook opened to anyone 13 years or older and took off, rapidly overtaking MySpace as the most popular social network in the world.
Facebook's success can be attributed to its ability to appeal to both people and businesses and its ability to interact with sites around the web by providing a single login that works across multiple sites.
Attractions of Facebook
Facebook is user-friendly and open to everyone. Even the least technical-minded people can sign up and begin posting on Facebook. Although it started out as a way to keep in touch or reconnect with long-lost friends, it rapidly became the darling of businesses that were able to closely target an audience and deliver ads directly to the people most likely to want their products or services.
Facebook makes it simple to share photos, text messages, videos, status posts and feelings on Facebook. The site is entertaining and a regular daily stop for many users.
Unlike some social network sites, Facebook does not allow adult content. When users transgress and are reported, they are banned from the site.
Facebook provides a customizable set of privacy controls, so users can protect their information from getting to third-party individuals.
Key Features of Facebook
Here are a few features that make Facebook so popular:
- Facebook allows you to maintain a friends list and choose privacy settings to tailor who can see content on your profile.
- Facebook allows you to upload photos and maintain photo albums that can be shared with your friends.
- Facebook supports interactive online chat and the ability to comment on your friend's profile pages to keep in touch, share information or to say "hi."
- Facebook supports group pages, fan pages, and business pages that let businesses use Facebook as a vehicle for social media marketing.
- Facebook's developer network delivers advanced functionality and monetization options.
- You can stream video live using Facebook Live.
- Chat with Facebook friends and family members, or auto-display Facebook pictures with the Facebook Portal device.
Getting Started With Facebook
If you want to see for yourself why 2 billion monthly visitors can't stay away from Facebook, sign up for a free Facebook account online, add profile and cover photos, and search for people you know to start your friends list. You'll be part of the social media juggernaut before you know it.
Fear that your password and other personal data might accidentally be shared with unauthorized people is just the start of Facebook privacy worries. Although there are plenty of ways to protect your privacy on the site, they aren't all obvious.
If you're young, imagine how those party photos and flip comments could come back to haunt future-you. If you're older, how annoying is it to see your pimply adolescent face reappear on Facebook, thanks to the not-so-magical combo of tags and long-lost classmates.
There are some things you should never post on Facebook. Real-life stalkers are on Facebook, too.
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Facebook Addiction
Face it, Facebook can be a major time waste. How much of your life do you want to spend lost in the daily dramas of people you barely know? It's easy to get sucked into reading trivial updates from Facebook friends and checking out people you wish you knew better. Before you know it, the social network owns your personal time clock as well as your privacy. You just may be addicted to Facebook.
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Facebook Owns Your Data
Facebook makes clear in its Terms of Service that you are surrendering ownership rights to the intellectual property—your updates and photos—that you upload to your little area of the world's largest social network. Are you comfortable with that?
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Facebook Inadequacy
When it seems like all your Facebook friends are having more fun and leading more exciting lives than you, it may be time to unplug from the social network for a while. Best to take a break before Facebook-induced feelings of social inadequacy spiral out of control.
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Facebook Anxiety
Worrying about whether to ignore, reject, or accept all those friend requests from people you don't like can be stressful. Compound that with people you do like asking you to answer trivia questions, pass along chain-mail quizzes, attend virtual events, or attend real-life events. The result can be high Facebook anxiety.
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Facebook Overload
Facebook can overwhelm you with trivial facts about what your 750 "friends" supposedly are doing. Try as you might, you can't figure out how to tweak your Facebook news feed to make your daily stream of updates anything less than spam. You may be suffering from Facebook Overload.
Are You Ready to Delete Facebook?
These examples are just a few of the many reasons people decide to take Facebook holidays. Typically, it's about regaining control of their nonvirtual lives. If you aren't sure you are ready to quit entirely, deactivate your account temporarily and see how you feel over the next week or two. You may find you have more free time and are less stressed out than before.
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