- Meta is retiring Messenger Lite, a simpler version of Messenger aimed at phones with lower-end specs.
- The app was introduced in 2016 for Android users and had been downloaded about 760 million times globally, with India being the top user.
- Although there was an iOS version, it was closed in 2020. - In other news, Messenger will stop supporting SMS next month, and Meta aims to add end-to-end encryption to Messenger chats by year’s end.
Question: do the “Lite” apps like Messenger Lite and Facebook Lite track less data than their regular counterparts? I use Facebook Lite under this assumption, but I’m realizing that I based this on no real evidence.
The lite version has 4 fewer trackers and 20-ish fewer requested permissions…still pretty crazy. Check them out on Exodus
Great resource. I forgot about this, thanks!
Absolute best answer. Thank you!
Pretty sure the “lite” version were just decluttered versions with features missing and better optimization (usually aimed at developing countries). They likely track as much (well, probably not as much because there’s no point in tracking stuff that the app doesn’t support).
I’ve actually noticed they started decluttering the messenger app. Rooms are gone and they’ve also removed the chat suggestion bubbles at the top. So when you launch the app you only see the conversations you have active.
I believe it’s the same between the two. You can check under the Data Safety section on the Play Store page though.