Easily Activate YouTube Dark Mode in the Android App

We’re starting to see a lot of developers adding in a dark mode to their application these days. There are a few reasons why this is happening but recently it was Google who added a YouTube Dark Mode feature to their app. Thankfully we can turn this feature on in just a few quick steps.

Dark Mode originally became popular among the enthusiast crowd a few years back with the CyanogenMod Theme Engine. CyanogenMod was the most popular custom ROM available and the developers built a theme engine for it. This allowed designers to create their own colored themes for not only the system layer (like the Settings, Notification Shade, etc.), but it also let them them specific applications as well.

As of right now, the CyanogenMod Theme Engine is dead but it has since been replaced with an application called Substratum. This application actually works without root (as long as you pair it with your PC) or Oreo, but the rest of us need root access. Substratum fills the same role though, it lets you download a theme and apply those theme layers to various apps and parts of the Android OS.

However, this can be a cumbersome experience due to how the platform works. When you update an application that has been themed, it will force close until you apply an updated version of the theme. This is why Google has yet to make the pieces that Substratum uses available to the public, but that hasn’t stopped developers from adding a dark mode to their own individual apps.

Dark Mode for YouTube 1st Launched on the Web

Anyone who does not want to mess with the Substratum application has had to wait until developers add these features to their own applications. Some applications, such as Join, will let you choose if you want to use Dark Mode, Black Mode, or the traditional Light Mode. After that, you can then choose which accent color you want as well.

This is what application developers should really let their users do. . .especially if they had to pay to use the application. People want to personalize what they use with cases, wallpapers, icon packs, and even themes. Google is well aware of this and with YouTube being one of the most popular websites on the internet, they began testing a Dark Mode for it on the web.

It didn’t roll out to everyone at first, but slowly and surely more and more people started to see the option in the drop-down menu of their account profile. Now, all it takes is just a couple of clicks and you can use the YouTube Dark Mode feature in any web browser you want. However, getting the feature on an Android device took a bit longer.

Finally, YouTube’s Dark Mode Feature was Launched

But yet again, it wasn’t available for everyone as Google enjoys doing phased rollouts for their new features. An Android update can be pushed to your smartphone nearly instantly, or it can take up to a month (or more at times). As frustrating as this can seem, it makes a lot of sense for a company with products and services that are used by over a billion people every single day.

However, I am happy to tell you all that the Dark Mode in the YouTube application is available for everyone. I haven’t checked the YouTube Go application to see if it’s on there, but if you’re using the full-fledged YouTube Android application then you can easily turn on and activate Dark Mode with just a few taps. That’s what this tutorial is all about so let’s get started

Why Would You Want YouTube on Dark Mode?

Just as I mentioned, the process is very quick and very easy. It only takes 5 steps to go from a blindingly white YouTube application for Android to Dark Mode. As I mentioned, us Android enthusiasts have been enjoying this type of customization for years. However, it’s the developers who are making such changes accessible to the casual user.

So you may be asking yourself, why would you want to use this YouTube Dark Mode feature on Android? I know I enjoy using it on the web because it hides all the white/gray user elements of the website so it’s easier to focus on video itself. If you watch YouTube videos in portrait mode then the same can be said for you as well.

Dark Mode Saves Battery Life

If you own a smartphone with an OLED display then you’re saving battery life for each pixel that is turned back and/or dark. LG manufactures P-OLED and OLED screens, OnePlus markets their displays as Optic AMOLED, some OEMs just say AMOLED, while Samsung markets their screens as Super AMOLED. The same rule applies to all of these devices.

The only other major type of display technology out there is LCD and we’re starting to see that used less and less on smartphones these days. Both OLED/AMOLED and LCD screens have their strengths and weaknesses, but many would say that Samsung’s Super AMOLED panels have caught up and surpassed the benefits of LCD.

Browsing YouTube in Dark Mode at Night is Better

The other reason why I would recommend this feature is if you like to browse through YouTube videos at night. Even with the brightness dropped down to as low as possible, there are some devices that are too bright in a pitch black room. Then, you also have the disadvantage of having the brightness so low that you can’t even see the video that you’re trying to watch.

With Dark Mode activated in the YouTube application for Android, you can keep your screen brightness level at a respectable level. Plus, if you’re on the Android Pie update then Adaptive Brightness will kick in and you won’t have to touch the brightness slider at all. It’s when this machine learning technology and type of customization that really make Android stand out.

However, it’s all up to your own personal preference. Just because Dark Mode in YouTube on Android can save you a bit of battery life doesn’t mean you have to use it. You should use the application anyway you like because that is how you will enjoy your mobile device the most.