Dark mode is experiencing strong interest from the public and has already been added to many mobile apps, such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter. Facebook has been a bit late to join the party, but recently, the company’s dark mode for mobile has finally entered its public testing phase after a long wait, with some users already seeing the option.
The social media network already offers dark mode, which has been credited with reducing eye strain and improving battery life, through its desktop app. In this post we look at how you can enable dark mode on Facebook on mobile and on desktop.
How to Enable Dark Mode on Facebook for Desktop
Depending on which version of Facebook you’re using, you may need to follow different routes to enable the feature on your PC. If you’ve switched to the new interface, this is how you can enter the dark side.
1. Open your browser of choice on your computer and navigate to Facebook.
2. Click on the downward-facing arrow located in the upper-right section of the screen.
3. Select “Display Preferences.”
4. Turn on Dark Mode from there.
5. The new mode should go into effect immediately, turning your Facebook interface dark.
If you’ve stuck with the old Facebook, you can’t really take advantage of the official feature. The good news is that there’s a workaround to get a similar dark mode experience.
You’ll need to use Chrome for this purpose, but before we begin, you should check whether you have the latest Chrome version. Go to the browser’s main menu and select Help. Click on the “About Google Chrome” option to see if there are any new updates that need to be installed, then proceed.
1. In Chrome, type chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark in the address bar.
2. Change the status of the feature from Default to Enabled.
3. Relaunch the browser as prompted.
4. Open Facebook and you should see the change.
Obviously, this version of dark mode is not as smooth as the official one, but it’s comparable to the real deal, so it should be enough.
How to Enable Dark Mode on Your Android Device
Facebook has been a little sluggish when it comes to delivering the same obscure treatment to mobile devices. But at long last, there have been reports that Facebook is testing the new mode on select devices.
You might not have it yet, but if you do, you should find it by following this path.
1. Open the Facebook app on your device.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu located in the upper-right corner.
3. Scroll down to “Settings & Privacy.”
4. Open this section, and if you’re part of the test, you should see Dark Mode listed there.
If you don’t, then you might still have some waiting to do. Until then, you could try forcing dark mode on all your Android apps with this method. Alternatively, you could access Facebook via your Chrome app and use the steps described in the previous section to turn on dark mode for Facebook inside your mobile browser.
Another thing you could try if you don’t have dark mode yet in the Facebook app is to download and check Facebook Lite. It may be available there. Facebook Lite is a lightweight version of the app developed for Android devices with lower specifications.
1. Open Facebook Lite on your device.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu located in the upper-right corner.
3. Scroll down until you find Dark mode and toggle it on.
4. The new mode should take effect immediately.
Also note that Google rolled out an all-system dark mode feature with Android 10. If you have a phone running this version of the OS (or above) and you’ve enabled dark mode from the System settings, then you don’t need to follow the instructions above to enable dark mode for Facebook on mobile. When the option becomes available in your area, your feed should turn dark automatically once you access the app.
How to Enable Dark Mode in the Messenger App
The option has been available for a while, but you can follow the below instructions if you aren’t using it yet.
1. Open the Messenger app on your mobile device.
2. Tap on your Avatar image in the upper-left corner of the display.
3. Toggle on Dark Mode.
4. The changes should be visible immediately.
Now that you know how to turn the lights off in Facebook, maybe you’d also like to learn about how you can do the same for other popular apps like YouTube and WhatsApp.
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Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.