Users in the country can now download the Twitter Lite app on the Google Play Store. As you may have gathered from the title, it eats up less storage — no more than 3MB — and loads quicker on slower cellular connections since it uses up to 70 percent less data.
SEE ALSO: #Hashtag10: The top 10 Twitter hashtags of all time in the Philippines
It also features a handy Data Saver mode, which prevents images and videos from being displayed on your screen — unless you allow them to be, of course. What’s more, the file size of images in each tweet will be shown, so you’ll know how much data it is going to consume before downloading.
Data Saver mode…
…prevents images and videos from being displayed on your screen — unless you allow them to be, of course.
Most of Twitter’s basic functions can be found in the app, including the ability to search tweets and see trending topics and hashtags, start a private conversation, and customize your profile. Understandably, Twitter Lite supports both English and Filipino. It doesn’t include Twitter’s Night Mode feature, which is unfortunate because we prefer browsing through the social network sans its default bright and cheery interface.
READ ALSO: You can now make PayMaya, GCash transactions on Messenger
During Twitter’s earnings call in July, CEO Jack Dorsey voiced his optimism for Twitter Lite: “One of our goals is to make sure Twitter is accessible to anyone in the world. And Twitter Lite exactly hits on this particular goal. Especially in places like India, we found that our app was just way too slow to access.”
He added, “So we have areas in the world where network infrastructure is more costly, and we could be a lot better in terms of serving those markets and those countries. So it’s way too soon to assess the usage trends, but our initial results look really positive.”
Above: Twitter. Below: Twitter Lite
As of the second quarter of 2017, Twitter reported 328 million monthly active users. 260 million or 79 percent of its users are outside the U.S., where cellular networks are sometimes not only slower but also more expensive to use.
Personally, we think Twitter still has a long way to go in the Philippines. But offering a version of its app that allows users to have more control over their data allowance, and in the process, their spending, is a huge step in the right direction.
Story via TechCrunch
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