Facebook is publicly testing a dark mode for its mobile app, and it is seemingly rolling out to public users, reports Engadget, and this new mode is available on both Android and iOS, and can be accessed by navigating to Settings and Privacy under the Menu tab.
RELATED READING: FACEBOOK IS TESTING THE DARK MODE FEATURE ON MOBILE APPS
Users can then choose whether to enable the feature or not, or they can leave it up to their operating system settings to decide. For example, if your operating system is set to switch to dark mode at night time, you can set the Facebook app to follow this lead.
Facebook’s Messenger app has had dark mode since 2019, while desktop users of Facebook have been able to use dark mode since March 2020.
Dark mode for the Facebook App has therefore been a widely requested feature, and Engadget speculated that the long wait could be because the app is used by billions of people, meaning a bad rollout would be disastrous for the company.
See how dark mode looks in the video below.
The benefits of dark mode
Dark modes have become incredibly popular in recent years and offer a different viewing experience that has unique benefits and drawbacks.
These pros and cons were previously highlighted by University of Cambridge academic Silas Brown.
These include health advantages, due to the fact that dark modes emit less blue light, which means your sleep cycle is not as likely to be disrupted.
Dark modes also reduce eye fatigue that can be caused by glare and is particularly beneficial to users with medical conditions affected by light.
There are also a number of practical benefits, including lower power usage and less noticeable faulty pixels.
