Instagram to finally get dark mode feature

Instagram is finally bringing a dark mode, one of the app’s most requested features.

The feature – available for some users with the latest update – brings an entirely new look to the app, as well as answering complaints from users.

On both iOS 13 and Android 10, phones offer their users the option to switch on a system-wide dark mode, turning the background black and making the screen less glaring to look at. But each app must ensure they actually turn it on, or they will just look as they always do.

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Instagram has not yet done that. It means that users scrolling through their otherwise dark phone can open Instagram and be suddenly hit by a blazing light white design, which can be especially painful when scrolling at night.

Twitter is full of users requesting that Instagram finally add the feature, comparing opening Instagram to having the curtains pulled open after sitting in the dark.

Now Instagram appears to be finally testing it out, giving some people access to a dark mode that will automatically switch on if a phone has the setting turned on in their phone’s options.

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The dark mode appears to leave the rest of the design largely similar. The colours of the app remain unchanged, and photographs look no different; Instagram’s dark mode simply swaps the bright white that is usually behind posts and stories and swaps it for a much darker colour.

To get the update, users need to be on the latest version of iOS and Android as wel as the latest version of Instagram, as well as having the dark mode option chosen in the system’s settings. But not everyone in that position appears to be able to get access to it, with the test rolling out gradually.