It's official: WhatsApp now has a dark mode, rolling out today on Android

Many smartphone users swear by dark mode. It’s proven to reduce battery consumption and it’s easier on the eyes — and some would say it just looks nicer. With all that in mind, today, finally, the WhatsApp dark mode is rolling out to Android and iOS devices worldwide.

In a blog post announcing the new WhatsApp dark mode feature, the Facebook-owned company calls it “the most requested feature from our users everywhere.” So this news should make plenty of people happy!

Activating the new dark mode is easy, but it differs depending on which version of Android you are running. Check out the instructions below:

• Android 10 — Head to system settings and activate the system-wide dark mode.
• Android 9 Pie and earlier — Open up WhatsApp and find the settings section. Then head to Chats > Theme > and select “Dark.”

Once you activate the WhatsApp dark mode, you should see that the interface of the program has a dark (but not black) background. Certain aspects of WhatsApp, such as the cartoon backgrounds and green buttons, hold over from the regular version of the app.

All other functionality of the app, though, remains the same.

If you’re using Android 10 on a Pixel device, you now have the ability to schedule the system-wide dark mode to line up with the status of the sun. Since WhatsApp’s dark mode is controlled by the system-wide dark mode, the scheduled setting should automatically switch WhatsApp from dark to light and back again when appropriate.

Do you have the WhatsApp dark mode yet? Let us know in the comments!