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Facebook Introduces Discover App That Provides Free Browsing Services In Developing Countries

Facebook announced on 5th May 2020 that it has started testing a new app called Discover which is aimed at providing free browsing services in developing countries.

 

The social media company made the announcement via its tech blog. The project will be a collaboration between Facebook Connectivity and local network providers.

 

It started the trial first in Peru where it partnered with Bitel, Claro, Entel, and Movistar. Facebook describes Discover as a new product that builds its Free Basics initiative.

 

The tech firm has been providing free access to its primary website for a couple of years now. It mentioned that Discover was born after listening to feedback and recommendations. These suggestions came from “civil society groups and other stakeholders, including organizations like the World Wide Web Foundation”, the blog post read.

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Facebook adds that Discover will have a mobile web and Android app version. Users will be able to browse any website daily “balance of free data from participating mobile operators.”

 

However, to achieve this goal, it will only support low-bandwidth traffic, that is; text. It will not allow video, audio, and other traffic that consume much data unless a user purchases data balance for this. In addition, there will be no restriction on what websites a user can visit.

 

The main reason for launching Discover is to help more people stay on the internet. This is because the company has noticed that many people go off the internet for long durations, likely because they had exhausted their data balance.

 

To cover the privacy angle and put people’s minds at rest, Facebook assures readers that Discover will not store people’s browsing history. Thus, Facebook will not be using it to target users with ads or suggest friends.

 

Discover will be a standalone app and you will not need a Facebook account to use it. The company will not be paying any of the mobile operators to provide free data.

 

It adds that after launching Discover in Peru, it next targets Thailand, the Philippines and Iraq. For those living in Peru, they can use the app now by visiting 0.discoverapp.com.

 

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Onwuasoanya Obinna

A reader of books and stringer of words. Passionate about Science and Tech. When not writing or reading he is surfing the web and Tweeting.

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