Although Instagram is filled with bright HDR videos, it doesn’t have that to be.

This is not a rare occurrence. I’ve had it myself. I’ll be scrolling through my Instagram feed and my iPhone’s brightness suddenly jumps up to 11 for some random reel or video. This happens even more if you are in a dimly lit environment or bar. These bright bursts can be irritating to your eyes and can cause blindness.

This is because people are sharing HDR (High Dynamic Rang) videos on social media platforms more often – regardless of whether they know it. When your smartphone plays them, the screen expands to double its width. In the words of AppleHDR makes it possible to achieve realistic color and contrast. HDR is the best way to see color. ExtremelyBright, whether you want or not.

Premium smartphones can record HDR video for several years now. Dolby Vision is used in Apple’s iPhones, while Samsung prefers HDR10 Plus. But I don’t think these companies have effectively taught customers where and when the capability is actually useful — and when it’s best to let it go. Many people leave their camera app at default settings. In that situation, your iPhone can capture vacation memories or party recordings in HDR. You may not be aware that these videos will take over the screen brightness of anyone with an HDR-enabled iPhone once they are uploaded to Instagram or Reddit.

This is something I have been noticing more and more in the last few months. Check out any of The Rock’s latest Instagram videos (Such niceClick (on the iPhone) to see what I mean. This HDR video is why? What is being won? It looks better when viewed in a desktop browser in SDR, without bright highlights distracting from the subject.

I would argue that HDR video recording was mainstreamed before consumers understood how to use it. Now we are facing the growing pains of such a push by phone manufacturers.

Apple is unlikely to dial back HDR or be more conservative with HDR video captures. This is the company which no longer allows HDR to be turned off AbsolutelyYou can still image on an iPhone. It’s still confusing to me.

A temporary “fix”, however, could allow iPhone owners to have more control. Instagram doesn’t have an option to turn off HDR. This ultra-bright experience is not available in iOS settings. This seems like a serious oversight, especially considering it’s been over two years since the iPhone 12 introduced DolbyVision recording. HDR does not mean that I want to view it in HDR.

The best way to avoid random brightness ramps is to turn on iOS Low Power Mode. This will allow HDR videos to play normally. There must be a simpler, more direct way.