Instagram rolls out custom icons…but only for teens

Some Instagram users are feeling cheated retired of a caller feature, arsenic the photograph and video sharing app connected Wednesday announced the motorboat of customized icons — but lone for its teen users.

Teens tin present take from a acceptable of customized icons that crook the accepted Instagram logo into caller variations that tin beryllium utilized arsenic the app’s icon connected their phone’s location screen. The enactment is accessed by tapping the Instagram logo astatine the apical of the location provender aft opening the app.

Currently, the customized icons see renditions of the Instagram logo styled arsenic neon, wide glass, fire, flowers, greenish slime, and more.

In the replies to its announcement connected X, users are overwhelmingly pushing backmost against the thought that specified a diagnostic should beryllium age-gated, noting that big users besides privation to customize their location screens. Some accused Instagram of chasing Snapchat with the feature. (On Snapchat, users request a paid Snapchat+ subscription to alteration the app’s icon.) Others said it gave them “MySpace vibes.”

Instagram’s teen accounts, launched successful 2024, adhd further restrictions and built-in protections for minors, including limits connected contented to PG-13 material. The institution earlier this year began utilizing AI exertion to place teens who lied astir their property connected the societal web and enroll them successful the much restricted teen accounts.

With customized icons, the institution is trying a antithetic approach: utilizing a carrot alternatively of a stick, truthful to speak, to marque the teen accounts look much appealing.

Younger users bash marque consciousness arsenic a people for customization options, arsenic they’ve overwhelmingly embraced the iPhone Home Screen customization trend, which saw renewed interest erstwhile Apple introduced widgets successful 2020 with the motorboat of iOS 14. Apple besides made it easier to customize icons with improvements to app shortcuts. More recently, Apple has simplified the process with tinted icons successful iOS 18, which were updated successful iOS 26.

Android users person had these sorts of customization options for acold longer, though the majority of U.S. teens are connected iPhones.