Twitter Lite Makes Social Networking Easier on Your iPhone
Do you love Twitter, but hate how much storage space it takes up? After all, the myriad pictures that get posted to Twitter can take up a considerable amount of space on your iPhone. Sometimes, you might steer away from the Twitter app just because of the data usage it can require. If you’re tight on storage or bandwidth but want to keep up with Twitter, the social network has a new option for you called Twitter Lite.
What Is Twitter Light?
This option is what is known as a Progressive Web App. It runs in Safari and other mobile browsers as a client-side JavaScript application that takes up less than a megabyte of storage space. According to Twitter, this service minimizes data usage, too, and is very resilient on unreliable and congested cellular networks. Twitter Light is also optimized for speed, launching up to 30 percent faster than the full app and offering quicker navigation throughout Twitter.
This mobile app supports all of the main features of Twitter. Direct Messages, trends, and profiles are all available. You’ll also be able to upload media and find notifications, and more. Twitter Lite also features an offline mode. On iOS, unfortunately, the web app does not support push notifications
How Does It Save Data, Though?
According to Twitter, the Lite application has an offline mode as well as a setting to force the app to only download low-resolution previews of images and videos. You get a blurred version of those pictures, and have to tap on them to view the full photograph.
To enable Data Saver mode, first tap on your profile picture within Twitter Lite. This will take you to your profile settings page, where you’ll be able to enable Data Saver.
Next, toggle the slider next to Data Saver, and the feature will be enabled. Images and videos will be blurred, and you’ll need to tap on them to load the full versions.
Why Twitter Lite?
However, there are several barriers to using Twitter, including slow mobile networks, expensive data plans, or lack of storage on mobile devices. While smartphone adoption grew to 3.8 billion connections by the end of 2016, 45% of mobile connections are still on slower 2G networks, according to GSMA.
- Patrick Traughber, Product Manager, TwitterTwitter Lite is mostly aimed towards emerging markets across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The social media network wrote in its introduction to the new service about the various barriers to using Twitter in those markets.
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