Facebook launched a revamped version of its Instagram Lite app ten months after temporarily shutting it down, targeting emerging markets with a rollout spanning 170 countries.

In a post announcing the move, Facebook stated the refreshed app “is designed to provide people living in rural and remote communities with a high-quality Instagram experience using minimal data”.

Available on Android, the app takes up 2MB of device memory compared with nearly 30MB for the full edition, after Facebook jettisoned features with heavy animation including AR filters and placed much of the app’s code into the cloud.

However, it retains key features including messaging, video, GIFs, stickers and a dark mode option.

Tzach Hadar, director of product management at Facebook, stated it “wanted the Instagram experience to remain fast, high-quality and reliable, irrespective of the device, platform and network people are on”.

An initial version of Instagram Lite launched in 2018 and took up 573KB of device memory: in May 2020, Android Police reported this was shuttered while Facebook overhauled the service.