Instagram Dark Mode gets users excited, but there are buts!
The dark mode revolution continues apace, with more and more apps and services giving users the option of surrounding themselves with darker hues. The latest to hop on the bandwagon is Instagram, with a dark mode rolling out to Android and iOS users alike.
Previously available to testing in the alpha and beta builds of the app, dark mode is now available to everyone using the stable, release version of the app.
However, as head of Instagram Adam Mosseri notes in a tweet, you need to be running the latest version of the mobile operating system – that is, Android 10 or iOS 13 – to enjoy the dark tones:
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. 👀
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) October 8, 2019
Unfortunately, it’s not – at the moment, at least – possible to enable or disable dark mode within the Instagram app. The addition of a dark mode simply means that the app respects the system-wide dark mode setting of the latest versions of Android or iOS.
Turning to the dark side
That’s not to say that users of older versions of the operating systems are going to miss out entirely, though.
As reported by XDA Developers, famed reverse engineer-er of apps Jane Manchun Wong has already spotted references to a new ‘theme’ option within Instagram that suggests we should see dark mode being made available to Instagram users running older versions of Android. It’s not clear whether pre-iOS 13 users will get the option or not, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.
