Users around the world rejoice as Instagram’s mobile website launches a lightweight easy-to-use version for users in developing countries. Instagram’s website has been classically known as the place to only scroll through photos, never being able to upload photos or use a majority of the popular photo sharing application’s service.
Users could not upload photos, add filters, share stories or even send direct messages through the website on both desktop and mobile versions.
To improve the situation, Instagram started rolling out the ability to post photos on their mobile website to try and please its mobile users.
And to further improve the situation for users with slower internet speeds and/or with older phones, Instagram has been testing out various features on their mobile website. At the moment, the photo sharing giant’s mobile website is now currently similar to its original app, although it still prompts users to open the application.
Instagram Global Reach
The fleshing out of the mobile website is due to Instagram’s wish to make the application more accessible to global users. For example, Egypt has been noted to pay more money for slower internet speeds than other countries, and the new update may save many of the Egyptian population money in the long run.
The social media giant’s, Facebook (owner of Instagram), CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg has been on a mission to ensure global connectiveness and to provide all his applications easy accessibility for all of the world’s public. Instagram’s newest update comes in line with that mission, and provides easier access for users in developing countries.
Many users across the world have slower internet connections, it is a common joke and happening in developing countries who have not reached internet superiority like the European countries and the USA.
Users may not have enough space on their phones to download the application without sacrificing other more important apps, and the price of mobile data internet may deter them from using a high data usage app like Instagram.
Reaching the international community ahead of competitors
Currently, Instagram is ahead of the curve when it comes to its competitors, mainly Snapchat, in reaching the global community and understanding their needs.
Last month, Snapchat received a blow to its PR machine as Snapchat CEO and founder Evan Spiegel was flamed by a former employee, who stated the CEO proclaimed “This app is only for rich people…” and “I don’t want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain.”
Instagram and Facebook have been using this advantage, further expanding into global developing communities as fast as possible. Facebook’s Lite version of the application has already reached over 200 million users in less than two years, and has become very popular in countries like India.
This isn’t Instagram’s first time introducing product updates to improve the “insta life” of many of its users who cannot afford expensive mobile data plans or have weak connectivity in their areas.
It has already released an offline mode on Android, and the company has announced that it is still currently working on improving the mobile web experience for users and keep the application’s file size to a minimum.
