Twitter has created a lighter version of its mobile app called Twitter Lite. The version is currently being tested in the Philippines and is aimed at users with a slow internet connection and a cheap smartphone.
After several Twitter posts announcing the app’s existence, TechCrunch contacted a spokesperson for the social medium. The spokesperson says that it is still an experiment to see how much viability such an app has.
The test is being held in the Philippines, where mobile data connections are slow and expensive and many users use a phone with little storage. The app works on devices with Android 5.0 or newer and can handle 2G or 3G networks. It has most of the essential features of the full-fledged app, but is smaller than 1MB and consumes 70 percent less data. It is not yet certain whether it will also be available in other countries.
Twitter isn’t the first major social media outlet to launch a lighter version of its mobile app. A year ago, YouTube introduced the YouTube Go app, which supports offline video sharing. Furthermore, Facebook came with Messenger Lite, a version of the Messenger app that can run better on less fast smartphones. The company has also made a Lite version of the Facebook app. Facebook later released its Lite apps in the Benelux, but YouTube Go is not yet available here.