Instagram Story Background: Black Background, Night Mode & Color Changes

Updated October 2026 · 2 min read

Instagram Stories look better with intentional backgrounds — and the app hides the controls for them. Here is every background trick in one place, including the black background everyone asks about.

How to change a Story background color

1. Open Stories, take or upload a photo, and tap the draw (pen) tool.
2. Pick a color from the palette (long-press any color for the full spectrum).
3. Long-press anywhere on the screen: the whole background fills with that color.
4. For a translucent overlay instead, pick the highlighter pen (second from left) and long-press — the photo shows through faintly.
5. Use the eraser to reveal parts of the photo through the color — a classic technique for "reveal" stories.

The black story background (and night mode look)

For a pure black background: create a story with the "Create" mode (Aa icon), choose the black background, or fill any photo story with black using the pen method above. For the night mode aesthetic, combine a black background with white or neon text and a dimmed photo at low opacity behind it. Instagram has no separate "story night mode" setting — the black-background technique is the night look, and "how to make IG black" searches almost always mean this.

Removing the Threads banner from Instagram

The "Threads" banner appears when a story or post is cross-shared or when Instagram promotes Threads. To stop your own content carrying it: share to Instagram and Threads separately instead of using cross-posting, and check the share settings on the post. Banners added by Instagram's own promotion cannot be removed from someone else's shared post — only from your own sharing flow.

Background tips that look professional

• Match the background to your brand color (save it as a custom color via long-press on the palette).
• Keep text contrast high: white on black, black on pale colors.
• For text-heavy stories, a solid background beats a busy photo every time.
• Designing outside Instagram? Our Add Text to Image tool creates clean text graphics in the browser, ready to upload as stories.

Frequently asked questions

Why does long-press fill the background?

It is Instagram's hidden fill command for the draw tool — undocumented but stable for years. The highlighter variant gives translucency.

Can I use a custom hex color?

Not directly by code — but long-pressing the palette opens a gradient picker where you can match any color by eye.

Does the black background affect reach?

No evidence of that. What affects reach is engagement — and clean, readable stories get more of it.