India and China aren’t getting on – and that’s good news for #Instagram. 

Relations between the two countries have worsened this year, with military skirmishes flashing up along a contested stretch of border in the Himalayas in the summer.  

The fallout prompted Narendra Modi’s government to ban over 150 Chinese (or China-affiliated) apps, citing security concerns. #TikTok is contained in India’s list of prohibited companies.  

Last week Instagram announced the roll out of a lite version of its app to Android users in India. While the ban continues, the Facebook-owned platform will be doing its utmost to gobble up TikTok’s 120m estimated users there (India was thought to be the Chinese app’s biggest foreign market).  

Instagram Lite (or #InstagramLite) uses less data and so works in regions that have poorer connectivity. It has Feed and Stories, but not Shopping, IGTV or TikTok’s clone feature, Reels.   

What next?  

 Facebook will be hoping Instagram Lite has enough of an appeal for creators without the full range of functions. It will also be hard at work trying to deliver these to its stripped-back version. Meanwhile, TikTok will be hoping that 2021 brings a reconciliation between India and China that would level the playing field in the country again.