After all this waiting, WhatsApp is finally getting dark mode feature, now available for users on Android and iOS.
The feature is rolling to mobile devices running on Android 9 or later, and iOS 13, and should be reflecting on their phone via the version 2.20.30 on iPhone, and in case you haven’t got the update yet, we’d suggest you wait for a few days.
Dark mode has been available through the beta program on WhatsApp before this, and now, it can be used by everybody across the globe. WhatsApp claims to have tweaked the colour code of its theme, to make it user-friendly.
They’ve even made a video about it.
“During testing we found that combining pure black and white creates high contrast that can lead to eye fatigue. So instead, you’ll notice a special dark gray background and off-white color that lowers the brightness of the screen, cuts down the glare, and improves contrast and readability,” WhatsApp pointed out through this blog post.
Follow these steps to enable dark mode on Whatsapp for Android and iOS
Dark Mode for WhatsApp on Android
- Go to device Settings on Android 10
- Click on Display and enable Dark Theme
- For Android 9 users, go to Settings on WhatsApp
- Click on Chat - Theme and select Dark
For iPhone users, the support for dark mode comes directly via iOS 13 which supports the feature by default.
Dark Mode for WhatsApp on iOS
- Go to device Settings
- Click on Display and Brightness (as shown below)
- In the Appearance section, select Dark option
- Restart WhatsApp on iPhone for dark mode to work
Back in 2018, Google had confirmed that dark mode on Android phones use less power and saves battery life, and since then we’ve seen the feature being added to a slew of products, as well as iOS by Apple.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)