Instagram dark mode bug leaves Android users seeing white

Many Instagram users on Android devices have taken to X and Reddit over the past few hours to report an annoying bug where the app refuses to honor dark mode settings, essentially hitting unsuspecting users with glowing white interfaces every time they open the app.

Complaints began pouring in early today, with frustrated users describing how Instagram keeps reverting to light mode despite having dark mode settings enabled.

One Reddit user captured the confusion perfectly: “Why is it white? I always have my dark mode on.” THE job quickly attracted responses from others experiencing the same problem, with one commenter joking: “Can this company do anything, LMFAOOOO.”

The worst part is that it’s not even completely locked in light mode. Some users are reporting mixed themes, in which parts of the interface appear in dark mode while others remain blindingly bright. Multiple Android users confirmed they see fragments of both themes simultaneously, creating a disjointed visual experience that is difficult to navigate. “My app has strange visual issues where some parts are in light mode and others are in dark mode.” an affected user explain on r/Instagram.

The problem does not seem universal, however. Some Instagram users are not reporting any issues, leading to speculation that this affects specific versions of Android or device manufacturers.

I wasn’t able to immediately reproduce the issue on my Pixel 7a and Pixel 8, but I often notice a similar issue where the app theme is disrupted when switching from dark mode to light mode. In fact, I published an article about this recently, showing how Instagram displays a dark mode navigation bar with a light mode UI on Pixel phones.

These reports, however, suggest that the issue occurs even without switching from light to dark mode or vice versa.

For those desperate for relief from eye strain, some users have found a temporary solution: turn off dark mode in Instagram’s settings, close the app completely, reopen it, then turn dark mode back on. However, this fix appears to be temporary, with the bug reappearing after closing the application several times.

Meta has yet to acknowledge the issue, so it’s unclear if and when we can expect a fix to go live. But I suggest keeping an eye out for updates on the Play Store.

Instagram has been having a particularly tough time lately. The platform recently faced widespread app crashes on Android, missing posts from user profiles, and even a two-factor authentication failure that locked users out of their accounts. So it’s clear that the social media giant needs to sit down and fix these issues first, before introducing new UI changes and features.