Dark screen fans who only recently saw the introduction of a system-wide dark mode in iOS and Android will be happy to note that even Instagram is now getting the greatly coveted dark theme option on the latest version of both mobile operating systems. The news comes in the form of a short tweet from Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram. According to him, the camera screen in the much-enjoyed social media app has also received a visual makeover.
The new dark mode feature on Instagram is currently available only on the latest version of the two popular mobile operating systems, i.e., iOS 13 and Android 10 because they support dark mode at a system level. Mosseri did not mention in his tweet whether the app will support dark mode on devices running a previous version of iOS or (more importantly) Android. At the moment, the app does not seem to have a standalone dark mode option within settings.
If you own a device that runs iOS 13 or Android 10, you can enjoy the new dark mode on Instagram simply by enabling the dark mode option at a system level. In other words, if you enable dark mode in your device’s settings, Instagram will also show up with a dark app background. According to Mosseri, the new camera design in the app enables easier browsing of effects and a dedicated create mode for stickers, among others.
While most modern iOS devices can be upgraded to iOS 13.1, only a handful of Android devices have received the Android 10 update, including Google’s own Pixel line-up. The two popular mobile operating systems were released with a dark mode option only recently. To complement the system-wide dark theme on Android 10, Google updated many of its apps with a dark app background, including Gmail, Chrome, Assistant, and Sound Recorder.
Starting today, you can use Instagram in dark mode on iOS 13 or Android 10. Turn dark mode on your phone to try it out.