How to use Facebook Messenger Lite to save data

Facebook has released a new, slimline version of its Messenger app for Android phones. We show you how to get it and what Facebook Messenger Lite has to offer over its bigger brother.

Facebook Messenger is an ever-evolving app that keep getting new features all the time. For some, this is a positive, but to others the bloated nature of the app makes it cumbersome and potentially more data-hungry than they’d like.



Android phone users now have another choice, in the shape of Facebook Messenger Lite, a stripped-down version that was originally designed for the developing world.
The limitations imposed by those regions makes a big difference, as it requires designers to consider data plans that are much smaller than in the West, and the older, cheaper handsets people use. The result is a streamlined app that keeps the best parts of Messenger and ditches the rest.
Here's how to get Facebook Messenger Lite on your Android phone.

Can I get Facebook Messenger Lite on my iPhone?

Sadly, no. The iPhone X may have many new features, but the Facebook Messenger Lite app will not be among them.
As the app was created for the poorer parts of the world, it was focussed on the budget Android phones that most people use there. This means that Facebook never saw the need to make a version for iOS. A recent report by Techcrunch also states that Facebook has no plans to launch an iPhone app in the future.
If the full Messenger app on iOS is not to your taste, then you could read the Best Messaging apps for iPhone & iPad guide on our sister-site Macworld UK for some alternatives.

Downloading and installing the app

Residents of the UK, US, Ireland, and Canada will now find the Facebook Messenger Lite app in the regular Google Play Store