Instagram’s New Dark Mode Is Chic AF — & Here’s How To Get It

If you, like me, awoke this morning to find your Instagram feed ensconced in shadow, welcome to the new Instagram Dark Mode. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri tweeted last night that the new display theme is now available on Instagram if you have iOS 13 or Android 10, and to use it, all you have to do is enable dark mode on your phone.

Dark mode is new to iOS 13, iPhone's latest software, and I'm kind of obsessed with it. It's much easier on my eyes than its white background predecessor, and it just makes my phone look sleeker. To enable it on your iPhone (if you've updated to iOS 13), go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Dark instead of Light in the Appearance menu. Once you turn this on, your Instagram feed will automatically take on a black background instead of a white one.

And to get dark mode on Android (if you have Android 10), go to Settings > Display > Advanced and then choose Dark in the device theme menu. It's worth noting, though, that you can't use dark mode on your iPhone or Android and then opt out of dark mode on Instagram — it's a package deal. So if you don't like the way dark mode looks on Instagram, you'll have to do without it on the rest of your phone.

Instagram joins several other apps on the dark mode train — including Twitter, Facebook Messenger, and YouTube. And IG dark mode's reception on Twitter has been pretty positive — with tons of users commenting on its sleek look. That is, except for those of us with white borders on their grid photos. Those people might have some editing to do.