Instagram on Wednesday announced the launch of the test of a new version of Instagram Lite, and the second edition of the ‘Born on Instagram’ creator programme in India.

The Facebook-owned social media platform is extending the test of Instagram Lite to people in India.

Instagram Lite is an app that is less than 2MB in size and is built to deliver a fast and reliable experience to users.

“Early this year there was research conducted in India, to ascertain the attractiveness and comprehension of new products, and one barrier that was observed was the compromised Internet experience, as a result of low memory phones and heavy-sized apps,” Instagram said in an official release.

“This set the context for the test of Instagram Lite, and India is a primarily test country for it,” it said.

The Instagram Lite app is made for Android and this new version has improved speed, performance, and responsiveness, Instagram said.

Though Instagram Lite has a similar core experience to the original, it currently does not support features such as Reels, Shopping and IGTV.

The app will be available in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

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Born on Instagram 2.0

Instagram is also launching the next edition of the ‘Born on Instagram 2.0’ creator programme for Indian creators.

The programme was first announced in November 2019 and is meant to “to discover, grow and showcase creators from all across the country.”

The next edition of the programme will incorporate new features launched on the platform this year, especially Reels. It will last six months and will include masterclasses from internal and external experts, as well as collaboration and mentorship opportunities.

The news comes shortly after Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram highlighted Instagram’s progress in India at the ‘Facebook Fuel For India’ virtual event on Tuesday.

Vishal Shah, V-P of Product, Instagram at Facebook, said: “India is such an important country for us and has been a testing ground for innovation, thanks to the natural creativity and entrepreneurial spirit we see here. With the test of Instagram Lite, and the next edition of Born on Instagram, we’re aiming to democratise expression and creativity for a greater number of people in India. We’re also hoping to gain valuable insights before a global rollout of Instagram Lite.”

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