Facebook snaps up Android app monitoring start-up

Facebook has acquired Banglore-based start-up Little Eye Labs, whose technology allows Android developers to analyse the efficiency of mobile apps.

The deal has been confirmed in a blog post on the Little Eye Labs website, and will see its entire team move to the social networking giant's HQ in Menlo Park, California.

"From here, we'll be able to leverage Facebook's world-class infrastructure and help improve performance of their already awesome apps," the post states.

"For us, this is an opportunity to make an impact on the more than one billion people who use Facebook."

The Indian start-up was founded just a year ago, and released the official version of its Little Eye software, which allows people to monitor how much power, data and memory an app is using, for Android apps in April 2013.

Existing users of the software will be given access to a free version that can be used until 30 June 2014. Although, what happens after this date is not clear.

"This has been a fun and exciting journey. We're eager to be working alongside the incredible team at Facebook, and together, we'll continue on our mission of building awesome analysis tools to aid in the development of brilliant apps," the blog post concludes.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Subbu Subramanian, engineering manager at Facebook, said: "The Little Eye Labs technology will help us to continue improving our Android codebase to make more efficient, higher-performing apps."

Facebook has been focused on improving the user experience of members when accessing the site via mobile devices for some time now.

For example, last year saw the launch of Facebook Home an overlay for the Android operating system designed to make the site faster and easier to access.

Furthermore, the company set out plans in October 2012 to open its first engineering hub in the UK, which would form the focus of its efforts to provide users with a better mobile user experience.