It’s common for people to experience eye strain when using their phones at night. Not only that, but harsh blue light from screens can make it difficult to sleep, cause headaches, and more. Many apps, websites, and smart devices offer dark mode as an alternative to get around this.
What is Dark Mode?
Dark Mode (sometimes called night mode) is a setting where the app’s color scheme is altered to a darker landscape. Another term for dark mode might be bedtime mode–this is the display setting if you plan to stay up for a bit with the lights out. You can turn on Dark Mode on Facebook along with many other apps, including Snapchat.
Dark Mode makes it possible to use your phone or another smart device at night without straining your eyes or making it difficult to sleep. Unfortunately, not all apps offer a night mode–even some of the most popular apps out there have yet to add this beneficial feature.
Regardless of other apps’ capabilities, here’s how to enable dark mode on Snapchat.
How to Enable Dark Mode in Snapchat on iOS
Snapchat, the influential picture messaging and chatting app is well known for frequently rolling out new features. Users are continually amused and entertained by the addition of these new features. Thankfully, Dark Mode for Snapchat iOS was released in May of 2021. Here’s how to use it.
- Go to your profile in Snapchat by clicking your “Bitmoji” in the top left corner.
- Select the “Gear (Settings) Icon” in the top right.
- Scroll Down and select “App Appearance.“
- Choose “Always Dark.”
How to Use Dark Mode in Snapchat on Android
Unfortunately, Snapchat keeps promising Dark Mode for Android, but they seem to update everything else (as of February 2022) consistently. Perhaps they discovered an issue they can’t seem to resolve. We’ll never know. Anyways, don’t despair.
Android Snapchat may not support Dark Mode natively, but you can try an alternative solution.
The process involves turning on developer mode and using settings to “force” Dark Mode on Snapchat. Here’s how to do it.
- Swipe down and select the “Gear” (Settings) Icon in the top right.
- Choose “Display.”
- Enable “Dark Mode.”
- Go back to “Settings” and scroll all the way down, then choose “About Phone.”
- Select “Software Information.”
- Find “Build Number” and repeatedly tap it six times. You will receive an “almost there” notification about developer mode after 3 clicks. When completed, you will need to input your password/code to enable developer mode.
- Go Back to “Settings” and select the “Developer Options” that was just enabled.
- Scroll down and choose “Force Dark Mode.”
There are a few alternative methods for Android that are a bit outdated now that force Dark Mode on Snapchat. One is the Substratum app, and it’s quite easy to install and use. However, your Android device needs to be rooted for the app to work.
There is another application available in the Play Store called Blue Light Filter that, while it doesn’t add Dark Mode to Snapchat, does allow you to change the harsh lights emitted from your phone’s screen. The Blue Light Filter application does not require rooting your android phone but instead acts as a film over the display. If you’re looking to reduce the harsh lights of Snapchat, this is a non-invasive option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some more answers to your questions about Snapchat and Dark Mode.
Does Dark Mode extend battery life?
Most users who activate a darker theme will find that their device’s battery will last a bit longer after the switch. Using a lighter theme requires more battery than the darker one, and therefore it is one way to extend battery life.
Will Android users ever get Dark Mode for Snapchat?
At this time, the answer to this question is only that we hope so. Unfortunately, even early in 2022, Snapchat has released no official confirmation of the darker theme for Android users.
Of course, if you’re an Android user you can submit feedback to the developers’ requesting Dark Mode. All you need to do is open the Settings and tap on ‘I Have a Suggestion.’ Fill out the form and tap ‘Submit.’ The more users who request the feature, the more likely it is that Snapchat will prioritize it.
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