Back in May this year, Instagram shutted down the lite version of its app. After six month of the discontinuity of the app the company again launched the lite version earlier this month.
Many of you might have installed the lite version but how many of you have recognized the features that are not available in the lite version.
This article is all about the same, where I am going to list out all the features that are not available in the lite version but is available in the regular or you can say the original version.
Well, those of you who haven’t visited Google Play to check the availability of Instagram Lite app could do so via this link. For iOS users, Instagram hasn’t launched the lite app for now.
After visiting Google Play you will see the Instagram lite app is merely of size 2MB that is 80MB less the size of its original version whose size is 82MB.
Note: After Installation, the size (occupied on the phone memory or external memory) of the app may vary from one phone to another because some features of the service depend on how the hardware of the phone is.
So, In terms of size, most of the audience favour the lite app. But there are some audiences who see the distribution of features over the size. However, there are some other audiences too who don’t want to compromise with any feature and thus go with the regular version.
Let’s start with the features that are missing the lite version of Instagram.
Reels, Shopping Tabs and IGTV
Instagram recently added a dedicated Reels tab (In the profile section and bottom navigation bar) and IGTV tab (In the Profile section) on its regular version of the app. In Instagram lite App the same tabs are missing. Also, In the regular version, Instagram marks the IGTV and Reels videos with two different Icons but In the lite version, any video is marked with a Video Icon. Similarly the lite version also depreciates the Shopping Tab.
Here is what I liked about Reels in Instagram Lite app. In the lite version, first and the foremost, you will find the Reels videos at three places in the app. The first one is in the profile page of a creator, the second one is in the search section present at the bottom navigation bar, and the third one is on your feed. Now what I liked about viewing Reels on Instagram lite is, at all the three places which I mentioned above you will see the Reels videos recommendation only from the creators you follow. I know this lacks the exploration power of the app but Instagram has designed the lite version in a way to make it more private for users.
Sponsored Posts
Those of you who hate sponsored posts to recommend in your feed while you scrolling it, well Instagram Lite lacks the same frustrated feature too. While scrolling the feed in the regular version, you may see a sponsored post after three to four regular posts but the same you can’t see in the lite app. Personally, this is one of the most favourable features of mine.
Live Video
If you are a creator and go live on Instagram in your day to day creation Journey then Instagram lite is not for you as the app lacks the go live feature.
Dark Mode
One feature that is truly useful but is not available in the lite version is the Dark Mode. Yes, the Instagram Lite app doesn’t support the Dark Mode. But if you analyse the Instagram app, most people use it to see photos and videos and not generally use it to read text. Also, while we enable the dark mode in the app, we have no control over the photos and videos (that might not synchronise with the concept of dark mode) which occupy most percentage of the app screen, hence dark mode in my opinion on Instagram is not of that much use. Hence, removing dark mode from the lite app will not make that much of a difference.
Sharing Songs and TV Shows
Many of you out there use Netflix or Spotify or the Apple Music app. In these apps, there is an option to share the show or movies or music on Instagram Stories. Well, if you have installed the lite version of Instagram, you may not use the same feature. To use these features you have to install the regular version.
Instagram Lite Direct Messaging misses some functionality in compare to the regular app
Instagram Lite app does have the Direct Messaging feature but the Direct Messaging feature in Instagram is so broad that it includes a plethora of mini features like the newly introduced Vanish Mode, Swipe to Reply, Themes and more. These are such mini features that are missing from the lite version of the Instagram app. Also, In Instagram lite you can share multiple photos at a time in the DM.
Instagram Lite supports 9 Regional Indian Languages
We Indians could favour Instagram lite over the regular version because the lite one supports 9 regional Indian languages whereas the regular one supports the Hindi language only. The 9 regional Indian languages the lite app supports are Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, and Telugu.
So, these are all the features that are different in Instagram lite in comparison to the regular one.
