- By Ashish Singh
- Fri, 25 Aug 2023 09:31 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Meta has officially announced that it will be discontinuing the Messenger Lite application, which is a lightweight version of the instant messaging platform Messenger. For those unaware, the lite version aimed to provide all the messaging features while saving storage space and processing power, hence having less battery consumption as well.
Users of the Messenger Lite app are currently getting messages advising them to switch to the main Messenger app in order to continue conversing. New users can no longer download the app from the Google Play Store, and current users will no longer have access to it after September 18.
According to a Meta spokesperson, "Starting on August 21, people using the Messenger Lite app for Android will be directed to Messenger or FB Lite to send and receive messages on Messenger."
The software was initially released in 2016 as Facebook Messenger Lite, and it was designed for Android users with low-powered smartphones. It provided the basic chat features without many additional features. On the other hand, the iOS Lite version was dropped in 2020.
According to data from mobile analytics firm data.ai, the Lite versions of the Messenger received about 760 million global downloads. In terms of downloads, India was first, followed by Brazil and Indonesia.
READ: Facebook Messenger Will Discontinue This Feature From Next Month; Full Details
Separately, Meta recently informed users that it would stop supporting SMS communications in Messenger starting the following month. Users of the Messenger app won't be able to send and receive SMS texts after September 28, 2023.
Meanwhile, Meta is already in plans to introduce the default end-to-end encryption on its Messenger platform by this year and is already testing it with an unspecified wider range of audiences globally. With this, Meta is planning to offer more privacy and security on the platform.