One of the most anticipated and long-awaited features that WhatsApp users throughout the world want right now on their phones is Dark Mode. Although the dark mode option has made its way onto phones running Android 10 via its latest beta versions, the feature is yet to be available for those running Android Pie and lower. Fortunately, for those who are desperate to try out the feature, there's a nifty little trick.
Those who are currently using Android may be able to trick WhatsApp into enabling the new dark mode using this workaround.
How the trick works
In order to get dark mode on your WhatsApp, you will first need to make sure that you're running the latest version of WhatsApp on your Android smartphone. Once you've updated WhatsApp, launch a chat and paste a link to a YouTube video on the conversation thread and click to play the clip in a PiP (picture-in-picture) window.
For the trick to work, you'll need to do this with the keyboard launched and ready to go. This workaround seems to trigger a glitch in WhatsApp's latest version that concerts the entire interface into a dark interface. The workaround glitch was first discovered by WhatsApp blog WABetaInfo.
Not for everyone
While many Android users have reported to have benefitted from this trick, seeing the dark mode kick in almost immediately, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to have worked for everyone.
WhatsApp will be rolling out the dark mode update soon or later for all devices running Android Pie and higher.
Meanwhile, iOS users too will have to wait for an official update which would bring one of the most popular features in smartphones these days. Dark mode on WhatsApp has been making news since the past 18 months and WhatsApp has been teasing us with dark mode element with every update.
The most recent one being the dark WhatsApp splash screen while the app is loading to launch and even the dark default WhatsApp wallpaper which some users are able to use. It now seems only a matter of months till we see a full-fledged update that would bring the much-awaited feature on most phones.
What is dark mode and how is it helpful in boosting battery life?
For those unaware, dark mode turns the entire WhatsApp interface into a darker interface which is very helpful especially for smartphones that use an AMOLED screen since it helps boost the phone's battery life. AMOLED displays do not need any power to show blacks and all the pixels that display blacks remain turned off, thus lowering battery consumption.
