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Nicole Cozma/CNET
Editors’ Note, June 4, 2015: Facebook has officially announced the Lite version of their app.
The official Facebook app takes up approximately 30MB of device storage, loads slowly and requires two separate apps if you want to message your friends. If you’re using a budget Android device, or your connection hovers around 2G speeds, Facebook Lite is a better alternative.
Facebook has not made this slimmed-down version of its app globally available on the Play Store. If you want to check it out, you’ll have to manually install it on your device. To get a copy of the app, visit AndroidPolice’s APKMirror website and download it directly onto your device. After the download is finished, tap the notification and install the app.
Nicole Cozma/CNET
Similar to a recent app I covered, Tinfoil for Facebook, this is another Web wrapper for the mobile Facebook site. However, unlike Tinfoil, Lite can provide native Android alerts so you don’t miss updates from friends and family. This is likely why there’s a laundry list of permissions required by the app, but you’ll have to decide what’s most important to you.
