Instagram has launched a new feature that’s sparking both excitement and envy: custom app icons. But the catch is, they’re only available to teen users.
Teens can now swap out the traditional Instagram logo for playful new designs like neon, clear glass, fire, flowers, and green slime, directly from within the app. The feature is tucked behind the Instagram logo at the top of the home feed and lets users pick a look that matches their vibe.
But not everyone is happy. After Instagram’s announcement on X, adult users flooded the replies asking why the feature was age-gated. Many argued that customization shouldn’t be limited to teens, while others accused Instagram of copying Snapchat+, which offers paid icon customization. A few users even called the update “MySpace energy,” hinting at a wave of nostalgia for the platform’s early days of personal expression.
The move is part of Instagram’s ongoing push to make its teen accounts more appealing. Launched in 2024, these accounts include content restrictions and AI-powered age verification to keep underage users safer online. Custom icons mark a softer, more enticing tactic, a “carrot” rather than a “stick.”
Instagram told TechCrunch the icons were added after research showed teens love to personalize their experience, and that there are no current plans to expand the feature to older users or paid subscribers.
In context, it makes sense. Teens have long led the home screen customization trend that exploded after Apple’s iOS 14 update in 2020, when widgets and custom icons went mainstream. With iOS 18 introducing tinted icons, personalization is now baked into the smartphone experience, and Instagram clearly wants to stay in step with what its youngest users value most: self-expression.