Not all new year’s mean a new start. For LinkedIn, despite having already dished out several new updates, 2022 also meant the end for some things, primarily with its ‘Lite’ app. LinkedIn announced that it’ll be shutting down LinkedIn Lite, possibly removing the last vestiges of LinkedIn’s presence in regions that have more stringent connectivity and data access provisions.
LinkedIn Golden Acres
Originally launched back in 2017, LinkedIn Lite was introduced as a way to “level the playing field for all members when it comes to accessibility.” The app was essentially a pared-back version of LinkedIn and mainly included its basic functionality. It was made to load faster and consume less data, which is handy for regions with more ‘limited’ data plans.
The problem arose when LinkedIn started to gain significant growth, which is severely ironic. As LinkedIn continued to develop and evolve, its Lite app kept falling further and further away. There was a growing disparity between the full app’s more advanced functionalities – full profile features, video connection, Creator Mode, etc. – and those that were offered in the streamlined tool. While they were, in some capacity, technically ‘available’, the watered-down nature of LinkedIn Lite rendered them less useful than intended, with some features even being unavailable. However, the latter’s case is also understandable, since the purpose of the Lite version was to introduce a less resource-intensive variant of LinkedIn main, justifying the lack of certain elements.
Another way to look at this would be through the evolution of global connectivity. With ‘Universal Access’ being brought to more and more people, LinkedIn, too, has been empowered to move on without having to rely on a scaled-back version to reach more remote and limited audiences. This would help boost platform engagement and usage, giving LinkedIn a more significant presence in key markets.
Currently, LinkedIn’s key markets are growing. Now with 810 million users and counting, the platform continues to gain momentum in developing regions, especially in India (85m members), South Africa (+2 million), the Philippines (+3 million), and Nigeria (+1m).
India, in particular, has been identified as a key market for growth by most social apps, with LinkedIn remarking that Indian adoption of its full app rises at about 4x the global average. LinkedIn pulled out from China in 2021, but the retirement of its Lite app would allow its team to focus on InJobs, helping maintain somewhat of a presence in the region.
The Wrap
You have to really give up a couple of things for the sake of progress. Such has been the thought of countless influential leaders, and such is the thought by LinkedIn’s current leadership. The retirement of its Lite app signals the coming of something better, whether it has something to do with the improvement of its full version or in introducing a totally new app. That being said, maintaining connection with China will help save LinkedIn some 56 million users, which is a big portion that can contribute to its future growth.
LinkedIn Lite will be taken down from the Android app store starting January 27 and will officially shut down on March 15. LinkedIn will transition Lite users onto the full version over the next few weeks.
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