Discover the lightweight app’s top traits and trade-offs

Coming in hot with over one billion active users per month, Instagram is the undoubtedly among the most popular social networking platforms. Second only to Facebook, Instagram has embedded its double tap-worthy images and culture of curation so deeply into our everyday lives. At this point, one might wonder, is it really just an app, or a building block of our lifestyles?

Delivering even easier access to the wonders of the ‘gram, the creators of the app launched Instagram Lite for Android. A slimmed down version of the application, Lite weighs in at 573 kilobytes—a far cry from the original size of 32 megabytes. While the need for minimal storage space is impressive, it does come with a number of trade-offs. Here, we break down the positives and negatives of Instagram Lite.

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The Pros

More space, more photos

Most of us aren’t ready to part with our photos even after they’ve found a cozy spot in our Instagram grids. Taking up only a fraction of the original app’s size, Instagram Lite allows users to keep more photos in their libraries without needing to bump up their phone storage.

Quick and easy

You can rest easy as your mobile data package is safe. Available on the Google Play Store, the app only takes a number of seconds to add to your phone. No excruciating download periods here!

No FOMO

Despite being a lightweight version of the original platform, Instagram Lite doesn’t let users miss out on the fun. It maintains majority of the features we all know, love and utilize. Users can post photos, use filters, scroll through others’ feeds and post to their Instagram Stories without a hitch.

Oldie But Goodie

Whether your phone is a hand-me-down or simply an old model you don’t have the heart to replace yet, here’s some good news. Instagram Lite, unlike most apps fresh on the scene, doesn’t require the latest nor the most high-end device in order to function. Any Android phone running on the Lollipop OS or Android 5.0 can run the app with ease.

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The Cons

Out of reach

For the time being, the app is only available to Android users in Mexico. Expansion to other developing markets is in the works, but the Philippines has yet to get a taste of Instagram’s featherweight iteration.

The Handicap

A number of sacrifices have to be made to keep app size at a minimum, two of these being Instagram’s direct message and video posting features. Until the app is developed further, Lite users will not be able to upload video content nor send private messages to their friends and followers.

What about the ads?

While some of us scroll past advertisements without second thought, sponsored ads have proven to be an effective way to discover new products, brands or services. Despite this, no announcement has been made regarding the ability of Instagram Lite to run ads.

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With files, photos and applications crowding up smartphone storage now more than ever, it seems Instagram Lite couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. If you’re willing to trade off a couple of features for a whittled-down, no-frills version, then Instagram Lite ought to be the next application on your download list.

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