After testing the dark mode in the Android beta 2.20.13 and iOS beta 2.20.30.12, WhatsApp has now officially rolled out the dark mode in both Android and iOS. Dark mode for WhatsApp is designed users to reduce eye strain in low light environments.
WhatsApp said while designing the dark mode, the company spent researching and experimenting on two particular areas readability and information hierarchy. The research revealed that combining pure black and white creates high contrast that can lead to eye fatigue. To give users a sound readability experience, the company chose colours in such way so as to minimise eye fatigue and are closer to the system defaults on iPhone and Android, respectively. So, 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. Under information hierarchy, WhatsApp has focused 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. If you are using Android 9 or below, you can go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Theme > select ‘Dark’. On iOS, dark mode can be enabled from ‘Chats’ in the Settings menu.
While the basic functionality of the dark mode remains the same on both operating systems, there is a slight difference between the number of modes present for users. On iOS, the Dark theme on WhatsApp can be enabled from ‘Chats’ in the Settings menu. The iOS offers three choices – System Default, Light, and Dark, when you access the ‘Display’ sub-section and tap on the ‘Theme’ option.
If you opt for system default, then the WhatsApp’s theme will change to whatever your iPhone’s theme is. For instance, if you have Dark Theme, WhatsApp will have change to Dark Mode and if there is light theme turned on, it will change to that automatically.
On Android, users are given with an extra option ‘Set by battery saver,’ and is available on phones running Android 9 or lower. This option automatically switches to light/dark theme, with respect to a user’s Battery Saver settings. Other three options Light, system default and dark work in a similar fashion as in the iOS.
