Following Instagram's latest update, social media users worldwide are facing a couple of frustrating developments: an inability to use filters on their Instagram story, encountering an "unable to use effect" error message, and, as of early Thursday morning, blacked out Instagram direct messages.
Both iPhone and Android users are up against the social media issue, and some shared screenshots of it on Twitter, revealing messages that were both entirely and partially blacked out on the Instagram app.
My Instagram messages were all showing up with a black box around them or being completely blacked out - came on here and it’s kinda of a relief I’m not alone in this tbh - lmk if any of y’all find a solution please
Why are Instagram messages black?
Although Instagram has yet to address the worldwide message blackout, it appears the social media platform itself is experiencing the glitch, as reports of the irritating error aren't limited to certain mobile devices or carriers.
The most likely cause is that recent update, and the frequently large number of users on the app might also be a contributing factor — it's why some of the biggest social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, have also gone down in the past.
Naturally, many took to Twitter to express their confusion, warn others that updating the app could turn their Instagram messages black and, in some cases, share their failed attempts at troubleshooting the problem.
One person asked if others' messages looked "weird."
Another told them that updating the app could put them at risk for the black messages.
A third said that restarting his phone and force quitting the app didn't fix the issue.
My Instagram messages are borked. No idea why. Tried restarting the phone. Force quitting the app. I just get black bubbles instead of replies. iOS. @instagram pic.twitter.com/ORjfaeqcQh
— Sheepchase
How to fix black Instagram messages
Fortunately, there is a fix for the blacked out Instagram direct messages, and it's a surprisingly simple one: Just switch your phone's settings to dark mode.
On an iPhone, navigate to "Settings," select "Display & Brightness" and hit "Dark."
Changing the chat color makes messages visible again, fixing the annoying error until Instagram comes up with a more permanent solution.