How to Turn On WhatsApp Dark Mode

It’s always worth celebrating when your favorite app gets a dark mode – at least for those of us who prefer white text on a black background over the more annoying, brighter alternative. WhatsApp is the latest app that will make you have even more fun (at least on Android). However, you’ll have to jump through a tire or two if you want to reverse your colors now.

Facebook is currently testing the dark mode for WhatsApp. This means that you will not find a switch for it in the regular settings of the app. You need to get a beta version of WhatsApp to make the switch. This is usually not a problem, except for this fun little announcement that awaits you when you scroll down the WhatsApp list in the Google Play Store:

How to enable WhatsApp Dark Mode

I usually don’t recommend downloading apps to your device from the site for security reasons, but I think it’s okay to use a trusted source (APKMirror) to get the beta version of WhatsApp that you use for the Dark Mode required (version 2.20.13).

Go to the APKMirror website and tap the green link and scroll down a bit on the following screen until the large green “Download APK” button appears. Tap on it and download the WhatsApp.APK to your device.

From there, navigate to your Android Files app, tap on the dot APK file, ignore the scary warning, and install it.

Open WhatsApp, tap the triple-dot icon in the top right, and tap Settings. Tap Chats and a new list for “Theme” will appear. Tap on it and you can choose whether the appearance of WhatsApp should follow the appearance of your device or by default light or dark mode.

I think the dark mode looks great. If you’ve forgotten how to put your Android device into the dark mode, I can help you – at least if you’re using a Pixel 3 device. Open the “Settings” app, tap on “Display” and activate “Dark theme“. If you are using a Samsung Android device, search for “Night Theme“.

Also Read, WhatsApp new features update: Delete messages, call waiting support and more