Facebook’s new world domination ploy is a two-megabyte Instagram app tested in India and Brazil

Facebook has unveiled a new weapon in its world domination plan: a two-megabyte version of its Instagram app. The new Instagram Lite was built by the same team that coded Facebook Lite and replicates that app’s strategy of offloading functions to the cloud instead of running them on a smartphone. Facebook has removed …

[Anonymous Coward]

"The result is code that can run on even very modest hardware: Facebook’s spiel for the new app quotes a user who was able to run it on a Samsung Galaxy S Duos, a device from 2012 that runs Android 4.0"

Shame that same phone would not be able to connect to anything over https, as most of the trusted CAs will have renewed their roots, root updates are pinned to OS updates on android. Any site using anything over TLS1 will not be able to negotiate.

[Pascal Monett]

I don't think that that is the point. I think the point is that the app can run on (very) low-end hardware.

The cancer is spreading.

[Shadow Systems]

Exactly...

What if those developing countries are using 2G/3G for the fact that it's robust & reliable over longer ranges than 4G/5G? Will those 2G/3G phones be able to download data at a speed that would allow FB/I interactions in anything even remotely approaching a reasonable time? Hell, some of those devices don't have enough RAM nor internal storeage to download an entire photo, especially if someone accidently clicks on some 4K monster that'll all-too-quickly cause the device to shite itself under the load.

[DuncanL]

Re: Exactly...

That's the point of the "offloading to the cloud" part - the app says, "get me a tiny version of this picture" and FBs server farms do the work to send a picture the device *can* cope with.

[Blackjack]

You can do you if a program uses their own certificates like with Firefox mobile.

[Chris G]

I think it is about time the world developed a vaccine against Feacebook and it's mutations, it is after all a pandemic disease that infects much of what it touches.

[Charles 9]

That may be tricky. What if it's more like Captain Trips, able to keep evolving ahead of countermeasures as the article notes?

[Mr Dogshit]

Keep on delivering joy, Zuckerborg.

[Mike 137]

Wow! Brilliant!

"replicates that app’s strategy of offloading functions to the cloud instead of running them on a smartphone"

What an original idea - server side processing. Who'd ever have thought of it. Maybe the concept is patentable (in the US anyway, where almost anything including sneezing is, provided nobody has previously filed).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wow! Brilliant!

Well, they could still patent it even if someone else has, just have (might be had to now), put, on a computer on the end of the other patent.

[iron]

Re: Wow! Brilliant!

You could definitely patent sneezing on a phone, assuming Apple haven't already done so.

[mark l 2]

So basically Facebook are proud that they are able to run the Instagram app on hardware that came out in 2012? The original Instagram app from 2012 quite happily ran on Android 4 phones of the time with lower memory requirements. It only since Facebook got their hands on the company that its become another bloated mess of an app that takes a lot more resources to run.

[Anonymous Coward]

Instagram

Friend sent me a link to something on Instagram the other day. First thing I got was a modal box with "Accept cookies from Instagram on this browser?" The only options were "Accept" (everything) or "Learn more".

"Learn more" basically says the only way you can control cookies is by using native browser cookie management, with a warning that playing with them my render Instagram unusable - there is no option to decline/accept and end up with a set that retain functionality but prevent tracking (though I'm not surprised).

The Zuck empire needs to be brought under control...

[Mike 137]

The Zuck empire needs to be brought under control

No chance. It's registered in Mordor.

But seriously, nobody (statistically speaking) bothers to get this (or any other privacy related matter) right.

[iron]

Re: Instagram

Accept or Learn More is the standard for Google and a lot of Google hosted sites like blogs. I'm not surprised to see their data hoarding cousin in on the same act.

Why has the EU not sued Google and Facebook for this? They flagrantly violate the cookie directive and GDPR and encourage others to copy them on thousands of sites.

[Mike 137]

Re: Instagram

There have been several attempts by regulators, including imposition of some quite significant financial penalties. But every time, the penalty has been negotiated down to coffee money levels for a very simple reason. The disparity of wealth between the regulator and the offender is so great that the latter could exhaust the regulator's resources with appeals. The pragmatic solution is therefore to accept a "plea bargain" that promises to reform in return for a trivial penalty. Unfortunately promises are about all that gets delivered.

[JDPower]

Re: Instagram

And even if you accept, you then get told to sign up before you can view the post,which never used to be the case. So anyone sharing their utterly world changing news via Insta, sorry, not gonna be seeing it.

[Tron]

Too m

Too much herd mentality.

This is a genuine comment. I'm not trying to annoy people.

It's a good thing that 'lite' apps are being produced. They use less power and reduce the perceived need to update to a device with marginally higher specs, that none of us really need. Corporates often merit criticism, but when they do something useful, for whatever reason, welcome it.

I really don't care about cookies. I'm more bothered about having to click 'OK' on every damned website because of a govt. privacy law that has zero effect. The information they hoover up about me is worthless. Their AI is rubbish and no matter how much data they gather on me, their directed advertising towards me has been a joke. It remains as lousy as it was 20 years ago. If advertisers are paying extra for it, I have a piece of the true cross they might like to bid on.

I haven't used Instagram in ages. Does it no longer have a website? Because it would work happily enough on that, on old tech, if Google Play Store or OS updates hadn't killed the device. Folk use it. Folk enjoy it. Why are you complaining about this? Life can be tough. Everyone needs a way of relaxing.

If people want social media, let them have it. I'd rather live in a world where people can choose to do what they want, than a world where the government ban stuff. Wouldn't you? Nobody is forcing you to use it. I'm tired of people screaming for things to be censored or banned just because they don't like them. Websites. Movies. Books. People.

Social media can be a force for good or ill. For #MeToo campaigns and for witch hunts. Don't blame tech for the way people use it. That is the fault of human nature. Facebook allows people to share stuff globally. Most governments would ban it if they could, which is a very good reason to support it, for all its faults.

So don't be so quick to dive in. If GAFA weren't good at dodging government regulators, your internet would have ended at Dover years ago. Soon it might. Then you may regret some of your comments.

[ecofeco]

Re: Too m

Your personal info is worthless?

Cardinal Richelieu would like a word with you. 6 words, in fact.

[Charles 9]

Re: Too m

In this age of deepfakes and otherwise putting words into other people's mouth, the point's become moot. If someone wants to ruin you badly enough, the means to do it are out there no matter what you do. All you can do at this point is pray.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Too m

"Facebook allows people to share stuff globally. Most governments would ban it if they could, which is a very good reason to support it, for all its faults."

No, that is not a very good reason to support it. That's like saying "burglary allows people who burglar to get richer. Most governments would ban it if they could, which is a very good reason to support it, for all its faults."

The Mastodon federated network is just as functional and involves no tracking or targeted advertising (or burglary).

[Charles 9]

Re: Too m

"If people want social media, let them have it. I'd rather live in a world where people can choose to do what they want, than a world where the government ban stuff. Wouldn't you?"

No, because that's a world where Stupid inevitably takes the rest of us down with them.

[ecofeco]

World domination!

...through better sexting!

Pron has a long history of driving technology.