How to use Facebook Lite on your phone or desktop

• Facebook Lite is an app that's smaller in size than the regular Facebook app.
• This can be useful for people without access to a strong internet connection.
• Meta markets Facebook Lite as being compatible with speeds as low as 2G.

Facebook is one of the most ubiquitous social networks of the early 21st century, having a daily user base of over 1.9 billion. While Facebook users declined for the first time early last year, the social platform is still going strong.

Families and friends use Facebook and Facebook Messenger to keep close over vast distances and to keep in touch. Sometimes in your journey using Facebook, when network connection signals are weak, it can lead to problems keeping in touch. This is where Facebook Lite comes in. 

What is the difference between Facebook Lite and Facebook?

Think of Facebook Lite as Facebook, but it's kinder on your data cap and the required connectivity speed.

While the main Facebook app comes in at over 300 megabytes for iOS devices and at least 80 on Android, Facebook Lite takes less than 3 megabytes for Android. 

Meta markets Facebook Lite as being compatible with speeds as low as 2G – a throwback to the early '90s, with a theoretical maximum download speed of 48 kB/s.

Why would someone use Facebook Lite?

With its small size, Facebook Lite not only downloads and installs quickly but also runs faster than its bulkier siblings. This makes it the ideal choice for those situations where connections, even at their best, are agonizingly sluggish and unpredictable.

Unfortunately, Facebook Lite is not available for iOS devices at this time. Meta appears to have tested an iOS version because Facebook's documentation makes direct reference to Facebook Lite  "work[ing] on most Android or iOS mobile phones." Despite this, at the time of writing, the app is not currently available in the iOS App Store.

Do you need Messenger for Facebook Lite?

Messenger and Facebook Lite are different Facebook apps. Facebook Lite used to be accompanied by a stripped-down version of Messenger called Messenger Lite. Messenger Lite had a user base of more than 760 million, based on app downloads, but it has been discontinued for both iOS and Android.

Messenger Lite had the same value proposition as Facebook Lite still does: smaller download and install size, tailored to work well even on antiquated internet connections to help keep people connected. 

The regular Messenger app is still smaller in size than the regular Facebook app, coming in at 104 megabytes on iOS and 63 on Android.