Apps

Instagram app icon gets a makeover

Published

May 11, 2016

Michael Josh Villanueva

A few years back, Google introduced a design aesthetic called Material Design – basically this meant a more clean and flat user interface on websites, computers and smartphones.

It was a huge departure from another design concept called skeuomorphism, where designs are made to look like real life objects.

Not sure what we’re talking about? Look at the app icons on your phone, there was a time when icons looked 3D, had bevels and drop shadows. Apple was a big proponent of skeuomorphism, and on the original iPhone the notes app icon resembled a notebook, the camera app icon resembled a camera lens.

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When material design started taking root, apps were quick to follow the trend, looking flat and for the lack of a better word, basic. Except for one hold-out, Instagram’s app icon has stayed the same all these years.

For an obsessive compulsive like me, it was really annoying. I meticulously curate the apps that appear on my home screen, and the Instagram app stands out like a sore thumb. It’s one of my most frequently used apps but one I’d rather hide than give prominent placement to.

But that’s all changed today. Instagram has a new app icon, and it’s flat!

In a blog post announcing the update, Instagram says the new app icon is inspired by the original, “but with a simpler camera.” The rainbow that once adorned the old logo, “lives on in gradient form.”

According to a separate blog post on Medium, Instagram design head Ian Spalter said he asked everyone in the company to draw the Instagram icon from memory, giving them only 5 seconds. The elements from the original that had the most recall (rainbow, lens, and viewfinder) were incorporated into the new, modern design.

The new icon is essentially a camera still, but instead of the Polaroid which is what Instagram was originally about, the new camera outline represents the shift to smartphone photography – the way most people take photos today.

Spalter writes, “We wanted to create a look that would represent the community’s full range of expression — past, present, and future.”

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Instagram’s other apps Hyperlapse, Boomerang, and Layout also get similar app redesigns.

The redesign isn’t just skin deep. The Instagram app also gets a facelift, looking cleaner than ever. Now its mainly black and white, bringing “more focus on your photos and videos without changing how you navigate the app.”

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We checked, the Instagram update is available on both the iOS app store and Google Play.

[irp posts=”11261″ name=”The LG G6’s camera features are built for Instagram”]

Related Topics:Instagram material design skeumorphism

Apps

WhatsApp will introduce usernames to hide your phone number

Hide your number from others.

Published

June 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

WhatsApp is about to get an extra later of protection. After thriving on number-based chatting, the platform will soon add usernames, eliminating the need to share your number with strangers.

Usernames are the standard way of maintaining your anonymity online. Though most platforms today require users to log their email addresses or phone numbers, establishing a username can prevent other users from seeing this information way too easily.

Today, Meta has started rolling out reservations for WhatsApp usernames. The feature itself isn’t available yet, but early adopters can grab theirs as soon as the setting becomes available on their app.

To access the reservation, users can go to Settings > Account > Username. Of note, this isn’t available for everyone yet. But if you want to take dibs on a specific name, be on the lookout for the setting.

As for the username itself, users can reserve anything as long as it’s unique. Business owners and creators can also use their Facebook or Instagram handles as their WhatsApp usernames.

The feature, once it launches, will stop users from accessing your phone number when messaging. Similarly, other users will now need your exact username to start a conversation. Users can also set a separate code to protect conversations further.

Apps

HONOR, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays

Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular

Published

June 24, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like HONOR, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.

As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, HONOR is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.

For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.

Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.

That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either HONOR or Xiaomi.

Apps

Meta is reportedly experimenting on a gambling app

Users can spend virtual points on Arena.

Published

June 24, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.

If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.

Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.

Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.