Facebook expands Messenger Lite to the US, UK and other countries

Facebook Messenger Lite, the low-data version of Facebook Messenger that first launched about a year ago, will now be available in the US, the UK, Canada, and Ireland.

The light and data-efficient application was originally launched for emerging countries with sluggish mobile connectivity. That, however, is changing now. According to a report from TechCrunch, the app is making its way to the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland but would only be available on Android phones and there doesn’t seem to be any plans for an iOS version of the app.

The overall look of the app has the same general UI as the proper Messenger, but the feature set has been stripped down to regular Messenger conversations, the ability to make Wi-Fi calls, send stickers and photo attachments, and converse in group chats. There aren't any in-chat games, automated messaging services, or an option to update your status with photos/videos that disappear after 24-hours.

The Lite version of the app, originally meant for developing countries has been quite popular among Western nations too with many of them sideloading it to their devices. Especially for teens and young users, the lite version becomes a faster medium to stay in touch with friends without spending much of their data. And, hence Facebook's latest move of officially bring the app to the Western world.