Instagram is joining the Halloween fun with a new set of seasonal features, designed to get users into the spooky spirit with playful effects, animations, and custom templates across Stories, DMs, and reels. These Halloween “Easter Eggs” will be available until November 3rd, inviting users to add some extra excitement to their interactions.

Halloween surprises over DMs and notes

Instagram’s Halloween updates start with themed secret keywords in DMs and notes, where phrases like “Happy Halloween” and “Trick-or-treat” and even some Halloween-themed emojis like , , will trigger animations, like bats swiping across the screen.

Add your templates for Halloween fun

In Stories, Instagram has introduced five Halloween-themed “Add Yours” templates, which allow users to invite friends and followers to share festive photos and answer themed questions. These templates are available in the “Happy Halloween” section of the newly launched Add Your Templates Discovery Surface in Stories, making it easy for users to join Halloween trends.

AI powered costumes and festive fonts

Instagram has also integrated Meta AI into Stories with a feature called “Imagine Yourself as “, which allows users to see themselves as Halloween icons like vampires. Users can create AI costumes, share their creations, and even invite friends to join in on the fun.

For the final touch, Instagram has added a Halloween-inspired font called “Halloween” and a “Haunted” text effect, both of which can be used across stories, feeds, and scrolls to add a chilling aesthetic. Plus, there’s a Halloween chat theme to give DMs and broadcast channels a spooky edge.

These Halloween updates are designed for users to play with and share, with options for brands to reinforce their Halloween messaging as well. Whether it’s a spooky font or an AI-generated costume, Instagram’s latest addition is set to bring out the Halloween spirit in the app.