Facebook's Icon Is Black for Some Users, Leading Some to Wonder If It's a Bug

If you've had a phone for a few years, you may be aware that companies sometimes change how their apps look so that users pay attention to them. Duolingo, for example, makes its bird look like it's melting if you stop using the app.

Recently, some users have noticed that Facebook's app is looking strangely black.

After noticing this change to the icon, many naturally wanted to know more about why the app was now black, and whether that change was made intentionally or not. Here's what we know about the new black icon.

While the Facebook icon is not black for all users, many have taken to social media to note that the app appears to have been drained of color for some. The app now appears against a black or dark blue background with the "F" in a lighter blue. Some users have also started discussing the problem on Reddit, with one user noting that they'd even uninstalled and reinstalled the app several times to no avail.

Other users have noticed that the icon has inverted its colors, with a white backdrop against a blue "F." Thus far, no one has been able to explain this change or what caused it, and it doesn't seem like there's any explanation that involves something that individual users are doing. Instead, users have wondered whether the app is glitching, or whether Facebook may have intentionally changed its color scheme.

Some people theorized that the change to the app's look could be related to new features available in iOS18, which is expected to include some dark mode functions and is currently in beta testing. Some users have experienced the change without updating their phone, though, which has only led to more confusion about what the reason behind the change might actually be.

The best explanation that users have been able to come up with is that it's related to an update inside of the Facebook app itself, but even then, there's been no explanation as to exactly why the app looks different or why Facebook may have decided to make the change. That remains a great mystery, although the evidence seems to suggest that it's an intentional change.

It's possible that Facebook has changed the look of its icon because of some new event or promotion the app is launching, or simply because it wants users to notice that the app looks different and wonder why that might be. As of yet, we have no explanation.

This would be a much more major revision to Facebook's app than the changes it made to the blue in its logo in 2023. That subtle change was noticed by everyone, and it was made across the app's user base. For now, this change seems to be a little bit more haphazard, and Meta has not yet made any announcement about exactly why the change was made.