It’s been exactly one year since Facebook released a lighter-weight version of its popular Messenger instant messaging application in emerging nations like Kenya, Tunisia and Venezuela. Now, the app is finally officially available in Canada.
Messenger Lite is designed to be used on older, slower devices, as well as devices on slower networks. However, the app is also perfect for users looking for a stripped-down, simplified version of Messenger that is also a smaller file size.
Messenger Lite provides users with the same messaging capabilities as Facebook Messenger, with the most notable exception being that the Lite version of the app is smaller than 20MB. In comparison, Facebook Messenger on Android takes up about 60MB of space, and can exceed 100MB on certain devices.
That being said, there are some drawbacks to using Messenger Lite. The app is almost exclusively a messaging and calling application, meaning that features available in the full Messenger app — like apps, gifs and the M virtual assistant — are not available in Messenger Lite.
Canadian users who previously wanted to install Messenger Lite had to use an APK to sideload the application.
Additionally, there’s no word on whether Facebook has plans on releasing its light-weight Facebook Lite application in Canada. Messenger Lite is currently only available on Android, and is free-to-download through the Google Play Store.
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