Instagram’s New Custom Icons Are Just for Teens
▼ Summary
– Instagram has launched custom app icons exclusively for teen users, allowing them to change the app’s logo on their home screen.
– Users can access six different icon styles, including neon, fire, and flowers, by tapping the Instagram logo at the top of their home feed.
– Many users on X have criticized the feature being age-restricted, arguing that adults also want customization and comparing it to Snapchat’s paid icon changes.
– Instagram stated it added the feature because teens enjoy customization and has no plans to extend it to older users or paid subscribers.
– The move aligns with younger users’ interest in iPhone home screen customization, which has grown since Apple introduced widgets and easier icon changes in recent iOS updates.
Instagram has rolled out a fresh feature allowing users to personalize their app icons, but this option is currently limited to teen accounts only. The move has sparked mixed reactions, with many adult users expressing disappointment over being excluded from the customization opportunity. Teens can now select from six distinct icon designs, including neon, clear glass, fire, flowers, and green slime variations, to replace the traditional Instagram logo on their phone’s home screen.
To access the new icons, teens simply tap the Instagram logo at the top of their home feed after opening the app. This feature is part of Instagram’s ongoing effort to enhance the experience for younger users, who often enjoy tailoring their digital spaces to reflect their personal style.
Following the announcement on social media platform X, numerous users voiced frustration that the feature is age-restricted. Many argued that adults also value the ability to customize their home screens and questioned why the option wasn’t made available more broadly. Some commenters compared the update to similar offerings on Snapchat, where icon changes require a paid Snapchat+ subscription. Others noted that the feature reminded them of the highly customizable profiles popular on MySpace.
Instagram’s teen accounts were introduced in 2024 with added protections for minors, such as limiting content to PG-13 material. Earlier this year, the platform began using artificial intelligence to identify underage users who misrepresented their age, automatically enrolling them in these more secure teen accounts. With the launch of custom icons, Instagram appears to be taking a more appealing approach, using incentives rather than restrictions to make teen accounts more attractive.
When asked for comment, Instagram explained that the decision to introduce custom icons stemmed from research showing that teens enjoy personalizing their Instagram experience. The company confirmed it has no immediate plans to extend icon access to older users or to offer it as part of a paid subscription.
Focusing on younger users aligns with broader trends in mobile customization. Many teens have enthusiastically adopted iPhone home screen personalization, a trend that gained momentum when Apple introduced widgets with iOS 14 in 2020. Subsequent updates, including improvements to app shortcuts and the introduction of tinted icons in iOS 18, refined further in iOS 26, have made it even easier for iPhone users to tailor their device’s appearance.
Although Android devices have supported similar customization features for years, iPhones remain the smartphone of choice for the majority of American teenagers, making this update particularly relevant to Instagram’s core youth audience.
(Source: TechCrunch)
