Why social media apps and websites give the option of a dark mode

dark mode apps

The dark mode is nothing but a new feature that helps change the background color of an app window to black or something close to it. It is available on the internet and iOS apps. Nowadays, android also has this feature. Here we’ll discuss the benefits of dark mode apps and why we should use this option on our device.

The Advantages Of Dark Mode:

For health:

Dark mode has a lot of health benefits, especially for our eyes. 

It reduces eye strain that we got from looking at a bright blue screen all day long.

Keep eyes on the blue screen for more than 11 hours per day causes our eyes to dry, painful, and itchy.

Overexposure to light reduces the secretion of the melatonin hormone that is needed for sleep. So indirectly, insomnia can occur. Sometimes this is accompanied by headache, eye pain, or neck pain.

As melatonin secretion reduces, it increases the risk of obesity, even some cancers.

We, the new generation, spend a good portion of time staring at the screens which have harmful effects on our eyesight. Even for some people giving up on mobile devices is not an option. So dark mode option has been introduced in our devices. It improves visibility for the people who have low vision and those whose eyes are sensitive to bright light. 

Battery saver:

Dark mode acts as a battery saver for our smartphones. It is a plus point for all the users, especially those who use their device for a long time for work or use it to play battery-draining games. 

It has been tested that using dark mode on an OLED screen can save a massive amount of battery power. If dark mode allies in the YouTube app can save up to 15% more energy than the white flashed background.  

According to a study, it has been proved that turning on dark mode on the iPhone can also extend a 30% battery life on the iPhone.

If a user’s phone is running low on battery life and far away from the charger, without turning their phone switch off or using another kind of power-saving, what they can instantly do is to turn on the dark mode option on their device, and they can easily save battery life for few more minutes.

By looks: 

The dark mode looks fantastic. Its white on black background feels mysterious and new to people. Presenting graphic contents like graphs, tables, pictures, dashboards, and photos became easier by using dark mode.

Colors on dark background seem prominent, highlights an interesting fact, and it looks more attractive than a simple white background. 

The dark mode option is available on many social media like messenger, Twitter, Pinterest, and now on Instagram. Facebook’s main app is under development to use this option. The dark mode gives our favorite apps a new get up as well as having health benefits.  

How to set up dark mode on different apps? 

Now, let’s talk about the setting of enabling dark mode in your favorite apps. 

YouTube :

To enable the YouTube app’s dark mode option on an android device at first tap on your profile photo on the top, then select settings > general > dark theme and toggle it on. 

In the case of iOS first, tap on your profile photo and then select settings > appearance > dark theme.  

WhatsApp :

WhatsApp is the most used social apps for all aged people. It also supports the dark mode theme. To enable this option, at first, you have to tap the three-dot icon and then select settings > chats > 

theme> dark. A dark blue theme will have appeared after this setting. But there is no true dark available at this time.  

Facebook Messenger :

Dark mode for Facebook messenger is now a permanent feature on IOS and android. In both cases, users have to tap the chat head icon on the top left and then switch to dark mode.  

Pinterest :

First, to enable dark mode, go to the user profile and select edit settings > set by battery saver > dark.  

Twitter :

If you want to enable the dark mode option on the Twitter app, users first have to tap on the profile icon and then select settings and privacy > display and sound > dark mode and then toggle it or align with systemwide settings (iOS). For android, turn the option off or on or set it to automatic. 

Grammarly keyboard : 

If you want a dark keyboard on Grammarly, then tap firstly on the keyboard, look and feel and then choose the dark theme to look your keyboard black. 

Also read about:

When should dark mode not be used? 

The dark mode is someone’s choice. However, there are also some problems using dark mode. 

Dark mode lowers reading comprehension. Our human eyes mostly prefer dark on a light background but reversing it forces them to read texts and understand the meaning.

The dark mode is also worse for astigmatic people, a common imperfection in the eye’s curvature. These types of people find it harder to read white text on a black background than black on white background.

When dark display (black background) is used, the iris present in the eye open to take more light, so the deformed lens’s effect is increased.  

Many studies suggest that dark mode would make people less productive. That is why designers in the early stage of computing interfaces from the light on dark to dark on light-medium.

The dark mode is better for the night, but it is not always suitable for eye strain. Sometimes in bright light, texts may appear as washed out. 

Long paragraphs, texts, or contents are more challenging to see in the dark mode.

Lists of apps using dark modes: 

  • Skype
  • Todoist
  • Wikipedia app
  • Pocket
  • Google news
  • Google keep
  • Opera
  • Twitch
  • Twitter
  • YouTube 
  • Google contacts 
  • Signal
  • Slack
  • Evernote
  • Google Gmail 
  • Grammarly keyboard 
  • Reddit app
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram 
  • Android messages 
  • Google calendar
  • Google calculator 
  • Firefox (iOS only) 
  • Facebook messenger
Jignesh Vaghasiya is the CEO at Universal Stream Solution. Universal Stream Solution is a web development company in Atlanta (http://www.universalstreamsolution.com/). That helps startups to enterprise companies in mobile & web technology.
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