The Twitter Lite Android app is now available for download from the Google Play Store in 24 countries around the world, the social media company said Thursday. The availability of the mobile service expanded following its soft launch in the Philippines two months ago, with Twitter saying that it opted to release its solution in more territories after a successful testing phase which showed increased user engagement rates. The Twitter Lite app is essentially just a slightly revamped version of the Twitter Lite web experience that the firm introduced in April, being designed to use as little data as possible in order to facilitate the process of using the microblogging platform even in areas where cellular connectivity is unreliable or doesn’t allow for high-speed connections. Unlike the Android app, the browser variant of Twitter Lite is already available in all parts of the world and has been since spring.
The testing phase of the app also saw Twitter improve it with additional performance optimizations and the inclusion of some extra features like a ranked Home timeline and GIF search, the company said. As of yesterday, Twitter Lite began rolling out to select countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Middle East, and Asia. On the Old Continent, the app is now only available in Serbia, with some other supported countries being Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Colombia. Panama, Algeria, Bangladesh, and Egypt are also supported as of now, as are Mexico, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Israel. Finally, Twitter Lite can now be downloaded in South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand, Tunisia, Nepal, Panama, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Peru, the company said. As was the case before, the San Francisco-based social media platform promises Twitter Lite will provide an authentic Twitter experience while still using minimal mobile data.
The latest version of the Twitter Lite Android app can be downloaded by referring to the Google Play Store banner below, so long as you’re located in a supported country. While the social media firm doesn’t appear to be using the Play Store’s native geotargeting capabilities, it limits the availability of its app to smartphone models sold in the aforementioned countries. Twitter has yet to suggest that its lightweight app will eventually become available in more territories, though that seems like a probable scenario.