“WhatsApp dark mode is finally here” and is now arrived on iPhones and Android devices around the world.
Enable WhatsApp dark mode for Android, iPhone or desktop
We are very excited to let you update about WhatsApp with the most requested feature from our users everywhere – dark mode. Darker screens also use less power (particularly if your device has an AMOLED display, as explained in the video below). Finally, it just looks cool and makes a refreshing change from all-white interfaces. It’s always good to have more options.
How to get WhatsApp dark mode for Android
First of all, you have to update your WhatsApp. Go to Google Playstore or AppStore and search for Whatsapp, click on WhatsApp icon, then you will see the update button, just click it and wait till finish. The next step is below.
WhatsApp dark mode is rolling out right now for Android users, so you might find that you already have access. If so, activating the option is simple.
- Open the app menu
- Tap ‘Settings’
- Tap ‘Chats’
- Tap ‘Theme’
- Select ‘Dark’
Dark mode for WhatsApp offers a fresh look at a familiar experience. It’s designed to reduce eye strain in low light environments. And we hope it helps prevent those awkward moments where your phone lights up the room.
When designing dark mode we spent time researching and experimenting with a focus on two particular areas:
Readability: When choosing colors, we wanted to minimize eye fatigue and use colors that are closer to the system defaults on iPhone and Android respectively.
Information Hierarchy: We wanted to help users easily focus their attention on each screen. We did this by using color and other design elements to make sure the most important information stands out.
Users on Android 10 and iOS 13 can use dark mode by enabling it in system settings. Users on Android 9 and below can go into WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Theme > select ‘Dark’.
We hope everyone enjoys dark mode, which is rolling out in the coming days on the latest version of WhatsApp.
Other ways to extend battery life in WhatsApp
One of the main reasons you might want to try dark mode for WhatsApp is to extend battery life, but there are other ways to make the app less power-hungry without making the switch.
If you don’t like WhatsApp’s choice of colors for dark mode, you can make a few tweaks of your own to customize the look. Enter the app’s settings, select ‘Chats’ and tap ‘Wallpaper’, then choose ‘Solid color’ and select something darker than the standard pale gray background.
This won’t change the color of the message bubbles, menus, and other interface elements, but Google’s research has found that black pixels drain substantially less power than other colors.
By default, WhatsApp will download a lot of files in the background, which can really drain your phone’s battery, so you can also conserve power by opening WhatsApp’s settings and selecting ‘Data and storage usage’.
Here. you can choose when media should be downloaded (when you’re using mobile data when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, and when you’re roaming). If you turn these off, videos and images sent in messages will only be downloaded when you tap them.
Activating your phone’s own power-saving mode is another way to make it last longer between charges. Depending on which setting you choose, this may turn down the brightness of your screen, stop apps sending and receiving data when they run in the background, and limit CPU speed. It’s up to you whether you’re willing to take the performance hit in order to extend your battery life.
