Facebook is working on a new feature for its mobile apps that will reduce mobile data usage. The feature could be called Instant Videos and will download videos in advance using WiFi networks.
The new feature was spotted by The Next Web and was later confirmed to Tech Crunch by Facebook themselves. The feature will let mobile users watch Facebook videos when network conditions are appalling. While connected to a WiFi network, it will cache the videos on the smartphone and will make them available for viewing later.
The feature is somewhat similar to YouTube’s offline videos, with the exception of Facebook downloading the videos automatically instead of manual initiation in case of YouTube. Instant Videos will focus on saving data costs and a seamless entertainment experience on social media platform on mobile devices.
Facebook Instant Articles feature already loads much faster than mobile websites to prevent users dropping off waiting for a publisher’s articles to appear. As videos take more time load than web pages, this feature will help publishers gain maximum viewers for their clips.
