Most of you may hate ads on smartphones, but they are part of modern digital life. As long as apps like Instagram can be used for free, then we need to pay by processing posts, videos, and pop-ups that try to sell us goods. Well, not necessarily, as long as you are okay with some compromises.
With the Instagram application installed on your Android smartphone, you will not find an ad-free experience. Instead, you need to be familiar with Instagram Lite, which Facebook publicly released on March 10.
With the lightweight version of its app, you can browse posts and stories from followers or public accounts and interests without intervening in unnecessary ads trying to attract your attention.
The Difference Between Instagram & Instagram Lite: If you want to know what Instagram Lite is, you are not alone, especially in the United States where there are many Instagram users.
Basically, Facebook created a version of its popular social media application for use in places with poor internet connections or low data restrictions. Many of these users have low-end smartphones that can’t do all the magical operations that the latest Galaxy and Pixel phones can do, so they can’t run some resource-intensive functions without slowing Instagram.
The full application was originally designed for sharing photos but has since grown to include many advanced tools and unnecessary bloats, like Reels, IGTV, shopping, and advertising.
There are also animations, augmented reality filters, and other updated interface experiences, all of which can put weaker phones or connections into trouble, putting pressure on the smartphone’s processor and data plan.
Many of these additional features of Instagram have been removed from the lightweight version, and Facebook said it “is designed to provide people living in rural and remote communities with a high-quality Instagram experience with minimal data.”
Basically, the Lite application does not have too many requirements for any smartphone or cellular plan, so everyone can enjoy its core functions. The lite application for Android requires only 2 MB of storage space, which is much smaller than the full storage space that can exceed 30 MB.
Facebook achieved this feat by moving much of the code that runs the application to the cloud and off the device. As feature hunter Jane Manchun Wong said: “It’s like an application is now a shell.”
The Breakdown of Features Pulled & Kept: Overall, Lite omits content such as advertising, cube transitions, dark mode, and shopping. It will also prevent you from using AR filters, reels, real-time, boomerang, layout, multi-capture, PhotoBooth, and Superzoom in your story. In addition, it simplifies certain icons, such as the trash can icon.
With Lite, you can use basic filters, GIFs, stickers, text, and other simple tools to create your own photos, videos, and stories. You can also view and interact with all photos, videos, stories, scrolls, and IGTV videos in other accounts.
Discovery algorithms for finding new content, activity feeds, and direct messaging will also continue to exist. Dark mode and ads will be added in the future, so the ad-free experience may not last long but at least you will get night mode.
How to Download Instagram Lite on Your Phone: Unfortunately, Facebook has not yet opened Instagram Lite to the United States. It seems that the United States is not on the initial list of 170 countries where the app will be available soon.
However, according to Facebook, sometime this year, the lightweight application should be global, so it will be available on the Google Play store soon. Before that, we can use APK to check out Instagram Lite.
This is the benefit of the Android world-even if an application is technically unavailable in the United States, just installing the software there means that we can download it and install it on our device immediately.
To do this, please visit “Instagram Lite” on APKMirror. Scroll down to the APK list and click the download icon next to the latest version. Then, follow the on-screen instructions on your device to download and install the APK, when prompted, click “Open”. For more detailed instructions, please visit our complete guide on sideloading apps on Android.
After opening Instagram Lite on your device, log in as you would in a regular app. If you already have Instagram on your phone, you can tap your name to log in. Once in, you can start scrolling the feed, as usual, no ads. Instagram may bring you an extraordinary experience. In fact, it feels like a more focused version of the original application.
There is no complete lack of additional features. Of course, you cannot publish the scrolls, but you can view them on a separate page. The lack of animation means that movement between items can be fast, and the omission of ads is just an improvement. We will make sure to update this guide when Instagram Lite hits the Google Play store, and when it recombines ads and dark mode.
