Theme icons are a feature that Google will bring to Android in Android 12 released in October 2021. Updated theme support to dynamically change system colors based on wallpaper and dark mode switches. While many apps’ icons are starting to support the theme icon feature, some popular apps, including Facebook and Instagram, are lagging behind.
Not all devices support the theme icon function of Android 12 and above, and device manufacturers will modify it. You can expect to see theme icons across Android devices, including the Google and Samsung Pixel series. Android 13 is ready for third-party developers to join the ranks.
Developers leverage MaterialYou design guidelines to adapt icon layers for use with dynamic themes. The basic principle is that the icon background matches the system color and the icon border uses a contrasting color. This is helpful for users who want all their icons to be in the same tone.
Meta quietly added MaterialYou theme icon support to its Facebook Android app, followed closely by rolling out another support in its Instagram Android app. The updates come more than a year after Meta added support for WhatsApp, another app in its portfolio. WhatsApp will get theme support as early as August 2022.
To get dynamic theme icon support for Facebook and Instagram, make sure your app is updated to the latest version, higher than the version number for Facebook in PlayStorev439 and Instagram in PlayStorev307. You can also manually update to the latest version by downloading the APK. Below are the APK links for Facebook and Instagram. You must also make sure your device is Android 12 or higher to use these features.
To enable dynamic themes, long press the home screen and select a wallpaper and style. Then find the theme icon switch and enable it.