Instagram Stories are one of the best ways to connect with your audience, share daily updates, and boost your engagement. But let’s be honest: the default backgrounds Instagram automatically assigns to your stories can sometimes look incredibly dull or completely clash with your brand aesthetics.
If you are stuck looking at a messy background, you are probably wondering how to change background color on Instagram Story frames without covering up your original content.
Whether you want to apply a striking solid brand color, use an eye-catching gradient, or drop a custom image behind a shared post, the process is actually incredibly simple once you know where the hidden tools are.
In this comprehensive guide, you will learn every single method to completely customize your Instagram Story background on both iPhone and Android devices.
Why You Should Customize Your Instagram Story Backgrounds
First impressions matter. When someone taps on your profile icon, you only have a split second to grab their attention.
Customizing your story backgrounds helps you:
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Maintain Brand Consistency: Using your specific brand color palette makes your content instantly recognizable.
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Increase Readability: High-contrast backgrounds make text overlays, stickers, and interactive polls pop.
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Boost Engagement: Beautifully designed stories get fewer skips and higher reply rates.
Let’s dive straight into the step-by-step methods to elevate your content.
Method 1: How to Change Background Color on Instagram Story to a Solid Shade
This is the most common workaround creators look for. When you upload a photo from your camera roll or share a post from your feed, Instagram automatically creates a gradient background based on the colors in that image.
Here is the secret trick to turning that background into a single, clean, solid color:
Step 1: Open Stories and Upload Your Content
Open the Instagram app and swipe right or tap your profile icon to open the Story camera. Upload the photo you want to use, or select the feed post you want to share.
Step 2: Access the Drawing Tool
Look at the top right corner of your screen. Tap the three dots (…) icon and select Draw (represented by a squiggly line icon).
Step 3: Choose Your Perfect Shade
A color toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen. Tap on any preset color, or tap and hold any color circle to open a full gradient spectrum color wheel. Alternatively, use the Eyedropper tool on the far left to select a precise color directly from your uploaded image.
Step 4: The Long-Press Trick
Once your color is selected, tap the Pen tool (the first icon on the left at the top of the screen). Now, tap and hold anywhere on your screen for about 2-3 seconds.
The entire screen will instantly fill with your chosen solid background color. Tap Done in the top right corner to save your changes.
Pro Tip: If you filled the screen over a photo you uploaded from your camera roll, your picture will be hidden underneath. To bring it back, read Method 3 below to see how to use the photo layer sticker!
Method 2: Creating a Semi-Transparent Background Layer
Sometimes, you may prefer not to completely obscure your background image. A semi-transparent overlay is perfect for adding text while still allowing a subtle view of the photo or video underneath.
Step 1: Activate the Highlighter Tool
Follow the same steps as above: open your story, select your media, tap the three dots, and open the Draw menu.
Step 2: Select the Highlighter Icon
Instead of the first Pen icon, select the Highlighter tool (the second icon from the left, which looks like a broad-tipped marker).
Step 3: Long-Press to Fill
Choose your desired color from the bottom palette. Tap and hold down on the center of the screen for two seconds. The screen will fill with a beautiful, sheer, see-through tint.
Method 3: How to Change Background Color Without Covering Your Photo
If you want a solid color background behind a photo from your phone’s camera roll, using the standard draw tool covers up your image. To avoid this, we use the Photo Sticker workaround.
Step 1: Start with a Temporary Image
Open your Instagram Story camera and snap a quick photo of anything, or upload a random picture.
Step 2: Fill the Background First
Tap the three dots, choose Draw, select your final background color, and long-press the screen to fill it. Hit Done. Now you have a clean canvas.
Step 3: Layer Your Real Photo on Top
Tap the Sticker icon (the square smiling face at the top of the screen). Scroll down and tap the Photo Sticker tool (it looks like a circle displaying your most recent camera roll picture with a small image icon on top).
Step 4: Position and Shape
Select the actual photo you want to share. It will appear on top of your solid background. You can pinch to resize it, drag it anywhere, or tap the photo itself to change its shape into a circle, square, heart, or star.
Method 4: Changing the Background Color When Sharing a Feed Post
When you share someone else’s post (or your own latest grid post) to your stories, Instagram forces a default gradient background. You cannot use the Photo Sticker trick here because the shared post is interactive.
Thankfully, the long-press trick works seamlessly here without covering the shared post:
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Tap the Paper Airplane icon on the grid post and select Add post to your story.
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Tap the three dots in the upper right and select Draw.
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Choose your desired color from the bottom menu.
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Tap and hold on the background area outside of the shared post box.
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The background will change instantly, while the shared post remains perfectly visible on top!
Method 5: Using the Create Mode for Built-In Gradients
If you don’t want to use a photo at all and just want to share text, a link, or a poll, Instagram’s Create Mode offers instant, beautiful gradient backgrounds.
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Open the Instagram Story camera.
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Tap the Aa (Create) button on the left-hand toolbar.
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A default background will appear. Look at the bottom right corner for a small colored circle icon.
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Tap that circle repeatedly to cycle through dozens of pre-made color gradients, solid dark modes, and rainbow styles.
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Add your text or stickers over your favorite layout.
Advanced Customization: Creating Custom Background Graphics
If you want your stories to look highly professional, the built-in Instagram tools can sometimes feel limiting. The best alternative is to create custom vertical graphics using external design apps.
Top Apps for Instagram Backgrounds:
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Canva: Search for “Instagram Story Templates” to find thousands of free, pre-made layouts, patterns, textures, and brand color blocks.
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Adobe Express: Great for adding clean typography and precise brand hex codes to your assets.
Simply design your background in a 9:16 aspect ratio (1080 x 1920 pixels), save it to your phone, upload it directly as your story background, and layer your text and stickers right over it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the color cover my whole photo when I hold the screen?
If you upload a photo from your gallery and use the draw tool, the color is applied as a layer on top of your media. To fix this, use the Photo Sticker option to layer your picture over a pre-colored canvas instead.
Can I use a specific brand hex code on Instagram Stories?
While you cannot type in a specific text hex code (like #FF5733) directly into Instagram, you can save an image of your brand colors to your camera roll. Use the Photo Sticker to place your color palette onto your story edit screen, use the Eyedropper tool to sample the exact color, and then delete the palette sticker before posting.
How do you change the background color on an Instagram Story video?
The process is the same! You can use the Highlighter tool to place a semi-transparent colored tint over a playing video, or use the Photo Sticker option to insert a video over a solid colored background asset.
Does this process work the same way on iPhone and Android?
Yes. The interface icons might look slightly different depending on your operating system version, but the functional steps (Draw tool, Eyedropper, and Long-press fill) are identical across both platforms.
