Lite fantastic: why slimmed-down phone apps are the fast way forward

Over-complicated, storage-filling apps can slow us down. Instragram Lite is the latest brand to shed unwanted features and help us work better

Instagram has become the latest app to get the so-called lite treatment - a stripped-back, cut-down reaction to the increasingly over-complicated, bloat-filled apps we're being asked to swallow on a daily basis from the big app developers.

The new Instagram Lite comes in under 1MB, making it just a fraction of the full-fat Instagram's 84MB. The only things you can't do with the lite version of the app are to post videos or send direct messages. Applying filters, posting photos and viewing stories are all included.