Something to look forward to: Virtually every app, browser, and operating system has a dark mode option these days, but Facebook’s main app had been a notable holdout—until now. It appears that the social network is working on the long-requested feature for its Android app.
Jane Manchun Wong, who has leaked numerous unreleased features from the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in the past, was again the first to discover Facebook’s testing of a dark mode.
Wong notes in her blog that Facebook’s new FB5 app design is exceptionally bright and almost entirely white, making it potentially harmful to people’s eyesight when used in dark environments. But the risks could be mitigated by a dark mode, which Wong discovered in the mobile app’s code.
Facebook is working on Dark Mode for mobile
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 12, 2019
I wrote a blog about this: https://t.co/X5tAZuIlPz
Tip @Techmeme pic.twitter.com/w3vYpRgxUY
As you can see in the screenshot, Facebook’s dark mode isn’t ready quite yet, with only parts of the app showing white text on a dark background. This means it could be a while before a final version starts rolling out to the public, but at least we know it’s on the way. Until then, try not to use the Facebook mobile app while in bed with the lights out.
This year has seen a dark mode option arrive in several apps and platforms, including Android Auto, Outlook web, iOS 13, and Chrome 74. Even Facebook’s own Messenger service got one, so it’s not too much of a surprise to see it being tested in the main app.
In November last year, Google confirmed that dark mode wasn't just good for your eyes; it's also good for the battery life of smartphones with OLED screens.
Main image credit: Jane Manchun Wong
https://www.techspot.com/news/81416-facebook-android-app-getting-dark-mode.html
