Facebook Lite is now official, made specifically for emerging markets

Over a billion people around the world are connected through Facebook, and it looks like the social networking giant wants to reach many more people than that. Facebook Lite, a stripped-down version of the full-fledged Facebook app, has just been released to the Google Play Store, made specifically to use less data and to work well across all mobile network types.

The app launched in select countries back in January for testing purposes, and is now making its way to many more regions. Weighing in at less than 1MB in all, Facebook Lite is quick to install, and features all of Facebook’s core experiences like News Feed, status updates, photos, notifications and more. Facebook explains:

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.

The app is rolling out in select countries across Asia, and throughout the coming weeks Facebook Lite will be available in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe. If you’re interested in checking out the new app, head to the Play Store link below.