Social networks have become an indispensable part of our life. With them, it doesn't matter how far away our family and friends live. Instagram It is one of the most popular social networks that we have today. It has crossed all borders, and posts, stories, and reels are enjoyed by millions of people around the world. To suit all kinds of audiences, Meta launched a simplified version of the Instagram app. In this article we will tell you what it is Instagram Lite, how can you install it and what are the differences from the standard application.
What is Instagram Lite?
Instagram Lite follows the same philosophy that Facebook Lite already had in its day. It is a alternative application to Instagram that does not take up as much space on the phone and does not consume as much data.
The Instagram Lite app was originally released in 2018, but it was removed from Google's Google Play Store in mid-2020. A year later, Instagram Lite appeared again on the Play Store with numerous improvements. Instagram Lite exists only for Android, and there are no plans for it to come out for iOS. According to Meta, there is not such a large iPhone user base to justify the creation of this app. In fact, this is the same excuse they use for not creating a native Instagram app for the iPad.
What advantages does it have and for what audience is it?
This app is really designed to extend the Instagram experience to countries with emerging economies. Instagram knows that there is a lot of market yet to be explored, only that its potential users do not have terminals with great features.
Instagram Lite takes up a lot less space on Android phones. It is a simplified version from the standard app. The idea is that the user experience of the platform is usable in those countries or places that do not have very advanced communication infrastructures or between users who have old phones.
Main advantages of Instagram Lite
- Takes up less space: It uses less memory both the download of the application and the APK itself on the phone.
- consume less data: the very design of the application is focused on making responsible use of the data. This is especially useful if we are going to use the social network in a place where we do not have good connectivity.
Why are you interested in Instagram Lite?
The audience that Meta thought of when creating Instagram Lite was India. However, the application may interest you, regardless of the country you live in.
You may live in a town that has bad coverage and using Instagram seems like an ordeal to you due to loading times. Or maybe you have a old terminal that you want to take advantage of, but that is not compatible with the latest Instagram app. In these cases, Instagram Lite can be a great help.
How to install Instagram Lite
As of March 2021, Instagram Lite is rolling out in more than 170 countries. Most of these have emerging economies or are regions that have poor internet connectivity. Meta's plans are being fulfilled, since the country that is making the most use of this app today is India.
To install the app on your Android phone or two alternatives:
From the Play Store
This is the easiest method, but it may not work for you, since Instagram Lite is limited by territories and also by terminals.
Just in case, do the following steps in case you can install the app directly with this method:
- Enter the Play Store from your Android phone.
- Search 'Instagram Lite' in the browser.
- Observe the result. If the search only shows you the standard Instagram app, your mobile or territory is not available to download the app. In this case, you will have to perform the alternative method.
- If the result shows you Instagram Lite, install it on your terminal and log in with your data to be able to use the app.
From outside the Play Store
Most of the users who are reading this guide will have to install the app from this other method. It is a bit more tedious, but if you follow all the steps, you will be able to have the app in the terminal and update it with some ease:
Activate the installation of third-party apps
Before we begin, we will activate the installation of apps with Unknown origins. It is done this way:
- Go to the Settings from your Android terminal.
- Access the section Applications.
- Tap on 'Special Application Access'.
- Browse the entire list and enter 'Install apps from unknown sources'.
- Activate the option and accept the alert that will appear next.
This process enables the installation of third-party apps. By default, it is disabled in your terminal for security reasons. Now, you can install apps directly by downloading .APK files. However, you should be careful what you download from now on, as you could run a malware if you use an unreliable source. In this guide we will show you only trusted repositories.
Install Apptoid
This step can be skipped, but doing so ensures that we will always have Instagram Lite updated to the latest version on our mobile. Follow the next steps:
- Go to navigator from your terminal.
- Sign in en.apptoide.com
- Download the application. You will get a balloon on the main screen of the web to do so.
- Once downloaded, run it. If you have done the previous steps correctly, your terminal will allow you to do it without impediment.
- Now, you already have the Apptoide store on your Android.
Install Instagram Lite
Once the previous steps are done, we will open Apptoide and search for 'Instagram Lite'. In the list of results you can select the version of the app that interests you the most.
Once you install the app, you can easily update it from the Apptoide app (there are alternative ways to install the app, but each update would force you to search for each APK separately, which is not optimal).
What differences are there between Instagram and its Lite version?
- Interface: Instagram Lite's UX/UI is simpler and less cluttered.
- app size: Instagram Lite is compiled in a way that takes up less space. The current app occupies only 2 MB.
- Data consumption: the Lite version of Instagram does not have as high a data consumption (networks and mobile) as in the standard edition.
- Features: Some Instagram features are cut in the Lite version. Direct is not available in this app.
- Information loading: Stories, Reels, Posts... In general, by pulling less data, the Lite app loads less cached content, making the experience a little less immersive than the full app.