Although technology has made it easier than ever to share God’s Word around the globe, most smartphones are less powerful in the developing world than they are in developed nations, and most users have a lot less data to use. This means the average person has remained cut off from digital Bible apps like YouVersion.
Until now, that is.
This year, YouVersion partnered with Biblica to design, pilot, and launch Bible App Lite — a lightweight Bible app specifically designed for people in developing communities.
“Lightweight” means that the app is exponentially smaller in terms of megabytes while still offering key Bible engagement features in an offline context, including the full text of the NIV.
More downloads than TikTok
After a pilot in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, Bible App Lite is now used in over 70 countries around the world. More than 16 million people have installed Bible App Lite in the last 12 months. More importantly, there’s over 1 million people using it every single day. And in multiple African app stores (Kenya, Uganda, and DRC), this digital Bible has even ranked as the No. 1 overall app —more popular than TikTok and Facebook!
“God is using this app — not just to get the Bible into people’s hands, but also into their hearts,” says YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald. “Our desire is to reach every person, in every part of the world, with God’s Word in their heart language.”
Bobby adds, “Our team loves Biblica. We couldn’t do what we do without you.”
The stats
The new Bible App Lite:
- 16 million total users
- 1 million daily users
- The number 1 app in multiple African app stores
We keep innovating to share the Bible everywhere
Technology like this is a gamechanger in getting the Bible to previously inaccessible places. In many countries it’ s much easier to download an app than get your hands on a paper Bible. Last year, we launched 53 more single language Bible apps for basic smartphones.
Read more about the impact of your support
over the last year in our inspiring annual report.
