How to Enable WhatsApp’s New Dark Mode on the Web and Desktop
If I had the opportunity, I would invert the colors in everything I do; dark mode is much easier on the eyes. While WhatsApp users have been able to play around with dark mode in their apps for some time, only now you get the same experience in the WhatsApp web interface and in the desktop app .
How to enable dark mode for WhatsApp on the web
First, log into WhatsApp web . If this is your first time doing this, you also need to download the WhatsApp app for iOS or Android. Then you tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner, tap WhatsApp Web and scan the QR code on the website to link your account.
Once you’ve done that, all of your WhatsApp conversations should appear right in front of you:
But look at this bright white background. Yeah. To switch it to the dark side, click the three-dot icon above the message list and select Settings . Tap on a theme and then switch it to dark. You will now have a much nicer interface to work with:
I can hardly contain myself.
How to turn on WhatsApp dark mode on the desktop app
First, if you don’t have one, download the WhatsApp desktop app for Mac or Windows here . You will be prompted to follow the same “QR Code Scanning” process as before, so make sure you have WhatsApp running on your Android or iOS device. Scan the provided QR code in the desktop app with your phone app, and soon your desktop app will display the content of the WhatsApp app on your phone.
Click the three-dot icon above the list of posts and you’ll probably see some sort of option to edit the theme or appearance of the app. I put it this way because dark mode is (of course) spreading among WhatsApp users and I don’t have it yet. So, I cannot confirm the exact steps, but I am incredibly confident that you will find the switch here as soon as it becomes available to you.
If you don’t want to wait, you can also try using a third-party hack to enable dark mode right now. It didn’t work as well as I hoped, but it’s worth playing around with if you’re feeling impatient.