WhatsApp has rolled out a new update and it seems that in 2020, dark mode is the new craze in iOS and Android devices.
WhatsApp enters ‘dark’ arena
The Facebook-owned messaging app is late to the dark mode party. In fact, Facebook and Instagram have yet to launch the feature. Twitter is the first-known social media platform to implement this feature, giving users the right to toggle between the black and white interface.
“We are very excited to update WhatsApp with the most requested feature from our users everywhere – dark mode.
“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,” WhatsApp noted in a statement.
For iOS users, the latest version of the Apple software also has the ‘dark mode’ feature. Users can either select the latter, forcing a dark theme for most apps, or have the iPhone change moods depending on what time of the day it is.
Of course, these types of features are more for preference than actual functionality. Giving users a choice to play around with themes does offer some psychological relief but don’t quote us, the only qualification we hold is dishing out dope content.
On a serious note, though, the dark theme does minimise eye fatigue and prioritise information hierarchy by using colour and other design elements to make sure the most important information stands out.
How to activate dark mode
Alas, this is how iOS and Android users can activate the newly rolled out WhatsApp dark mode feature:
To enable, just open WhatsApp, then tap More options > Settings > Chats > Theme. From here you can choose from the following options:
- Dark: Turn dark mode on.
- Light: Turn dark mode off.
- System default: Enable WhatsApp dark mode to match your device settings. Go to device Settings > Display > turn Dark theme on or off.