WhatsApp has been including a lot of nifty features in its app to make life easier on the messaging app and now after months of speculation and rumours, WhatsApp's long-awaited dark mode feature is finally here.
We don't know what took it so long to implement the dark mode feature in the app, but the Facebook-owned messaging app recently rolled out an update that brings along with it the 'Theme' feature for Android users. However, if you aren't seeing any option to shift to dark mode, don't panic, the feature is only available on the latest beta version of the app.
WhatsApp Dark Theme
The beta 2.20.13 of the Android version app gives users access to the new dark theme, which is designed to make it easier to view messages in the dark and reduce eye strain. But don't expect any miracles with the battery life, as the dark mode isn't the completely blacked out theme that we would have imagined, but a more subtle night blue shade, much like what we had seen in the leaks. But it helps save some battery at least.
Following the update, you will now see the option to switch between the default Light theme and the new Dark theme, as well as an option to Set the theme by Battery Saver.
How to enable Dark theme on WhatsApp
If you're interested, make sure you've signed up for the beta and update the app to the latest version available. Once that is done, the dark option will be available within the app's settings which is accessible by tapping on the hamburger icon (three dots) on the top left corner of the app's default screen. Once inside settings, click on the 'Chats' option. Here you will see a new option called 'Theme' and you can click on this to choose between Light, Dark and Set by Battery Saver.
The Light theme is the usual default theme that we have been used to while choosing Dark applies a darker overall theme with various shades of grey employed to make the app appear dark, while the chat bubbles appear dark green with white text. Overall, it's a welcome change, but we would have loved to see a black dark mode.
How to enable Dark Mode on WhatsApp Web (Google Chrome)
1. The first thing that you have to do is install the Stylus extension and a separate theme.
2. Download and Install the Stylus from the Chrome Web Store.
3. Once you're done, install the theme with Stylus.
4. That's all that you have to do, launch WhatsApp Web and enjoy.
How to enable Dark Mode on WhatsApp Web (Mozilla Firefox)
1. Install Stylus from Mozilla's official site.
2. Now, install the dark theme.
3. That's all. Launch WhatsApp Web and feast your eyes on the new dark mode.
Public release not far away
Meanwhile, it's still an early beta release which means that it will likely be improved further and the public release will be rolled out in the coming weeks once all the bugs are fixed.
Its release for the early beta version of the app means it will likely be introduced to in the coming weeks once any bugs are fixed. Also, there's no official word from WhatsApp on the official release date for the Dark Theme for all Android users and no word on when the feature will be made available for the iOS version of the app.
Hey, WhatsApp, how about Scheduled Messages now?
Now that we know that Dark Mode is finally making its way onto more phones, we would like to see another very interesting feature on WhatsApp that would allow you to schedule your messages and chats.
Imagine a situation where you wanted to be the first person to wish your best friend on his/her birthday at midnight, but before you could send them a Happy Birthday message on WhatApp, you fell asleep.
A feature that would allow you to time or schedule your WhatsApp messages would be really amazing. And although there are several third-party apps such as WhatsApp Scheduler, Do It Later, and SKEDit – that allow you to schedule your WhatsApp messages, we still cannot completely trust third-party apps with our personal messages and private data, so we would still love to see WhatsApp officially come up with a scheduler feature, and we are pretty hopeful that we will see it in a future update.
