Meta has announced the discontinuation of Messenger Lite, its compact and simplified variant of the Messenger application, as confirmed by the company to TechCrunch. Users of the aforementioned app are now encountering a notification, suggesting they transition to using the main Messenger app for their communication needs. The app’s presence on the Google Play Store has been ceased for potential new users, and existing users will lose access to it after September 18.
According to a Meta representative who communicated with TechCrunch via email, starting from August 21 onwards, individuals utilizing the Messenger Lite app on the Android platform will be guided to consider Messenger or FB Lite as alternatives for sending and receiving messages through the Messenger service.
In 2016, when it was still referred to as Facebook, Meta launched Messenger Lite specifically designed for Android users possessing lower-powered devices. This streamlined application offered just the essential features of the regular Messenger, aiming to conserve storage space and reduce the demand for processing power.
While Messenger Lite was extended to iOS users as well, Meta made the decision to discontinue its availability in 2020.
According to insights from the mobile analytics firm data.ai, the combined global downloads of these Lite app versions reached an estimated 760 million. Notably, India stood as the largest contributor to these downloads, followed by Brazil and Indonesia. In terms of lifetime downloads, the United States secured the 8th position in the rankings.
This development arrives on the heels of Meta’s recent revelation about Messenger discontinuing its support for SMS next month. The company informed its users that, following the app update scheduled after September 28, 2023, the capability to send and receive SMS messages through Messenger, which were transmitted by cellular networks, would no longer be sustained.
Earlier this week, Meta announced its intention to implement automatic end-to-end encryption for Messenger as the default setting by the conclusion of this year. Additionally, the prominent technology company is broadening the scope of its assessment of end-to-end encryption functionalities to encompass “chats of millions more individuals.”
