YouTube‘s dark mode transforms its typically harsh white interface into a subdued dark theme that‘s easier on the eyes. But the benefits of dark mode extend far beyond aesthetics. Research shows switching to darker interfaces can tangibly improve wellbeing, productivity, and device performance.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll highlight insightful statistics on dark mode’s advantages, explain the science behind why it helps, and illustrate how to easily enable YouTube’s darker dimension across every device.
The Rapid Rise of Dark Mode Across Devices
Dark mode has surged in popularity over the past few years. An August 2022 survey by Statista found 62% of smartphone users already enable dark mode, with that proportion expected to hit 72% by 2025 [1].
What‘s behind this rapidly growing preference for darker digital interfaces? Let‘s explore some motivations drawing people to the dark side:
reduce eye strain:
- 68% enable dark mode to avoid eye discomfort from bright screens [2]
- Dark mode cuts screen brightness typically from ~450 cd/m2 to under 50 cd/m2 [3]
- This 95% brightness reduction also slashes blue light emission known to disrupt sleep patterns [4]
Improve sleep health:
- A study found using phones/tablets in dark mode 2 hours before bed increased melatonin by 21% versus using devices in light mode [5]
- Participants using dark mode for 2 hours before sleep got 11 minutes more sleep on average [5]
- Dark mode users report feeling less tired during the day versus light mode users [2]
Save battery life:
- For OLED screens on phones/tablets, displaying black pixels in dark mode requires up to 40% less power than illuminating white pixels in light mode [6]
- Global OLED smartphone shipments are projected to hit 958 million units by 2025 – 86% of all phones [7]
- Enabling dark mode can extend OLED battery runtimes by upwards of 10% through reduced display power drain [8]
Enhance focus:
- Subjects performed cognitive tests faster and more accurately after pre-exposure to darker versus brighter screens [9]
- Dark backgrounds with brightly colored UI elements may help isolate onscreen content
With all those benefits, no wonder dark mode has become a hotly demanded feature across platforms like YouTube. But exactly how does YouTube implement dark mode, and what should you expect when you enable it?
What Does YouTube‘s Dark Mode Do?
YouTube‘s interface normally sports a bright white theme that stays constant as you navigate between pages and videos.
Enabling dark mode replaces that uniformly white background with black or very dark grey shades. This color swap applies to areas like:
- The homepage
- Your video libraries
- Channel pages
- Video descriptions
- Menus and settings
Essentially, any region that would normally appear white transforms into darker tones.
However, activating dark mode does not change the actual video players. Those remain unchanged, with framed video content standing out starkly from the now darkened backgrounds.
So in summary, YouTube‘s dark mode gives its interface a sleek new subdued style that reduces onscreen brightness without altering video content itself.
Now let‘s get hands-on with activating dark mode across all your devices!
Activating Dark Mode on iPhones & iPads
Thanks to iOS 14, iPhones and iPads gained system-wide dark mode options. That lets you quickly make apps respect a system-level light or dark scheme.
But for finer control, you can explicitly set YouTube itself to be permanently dark or always light regardless of your system settings.
Here are the steps to configure YouTube‘s stand-alone dark mode on iOS:
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Open YouTube and tap your profile icon in the top right corner of the app.
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Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
[iOS Settings Menu Screenshot] -
Choose General from the Settings page.
[iOS General Settings Screenshot] -
Tap Appearance.
[iOS Appearance Menu Screenshot] -
Toggle Dark Theme to enable dark mode. Tap Use Device Theme if you want YouTube‘s scheme to instead match your device-level light/dark mode preferences.
[iOS Dark Theme Toggle Screenshot]
And just like that, YouTube morphs into nighttime mode!
The App Store app also gained similar dark mode options in iOS 13. So if you wantboth YouTube and the App Store to shift shades after sunset, configure them to use iOS‘s device-level light/dark preferences for seamless transitions.
Now let‘s checkout the procedure for Android devices next.
Embracing the Dark Side on Android
Since Android 10, Google has provided system-wide dark theme customization dubbed "dark mode" for short.
Like with iOS, you can choose to either have YouTube honor your device-wide light versus dark preference, or force it to permanently use a light or dark motif regardless of system settings.
Here are the steps to toggle YouTube‘s standalone dark mode on Android devices:
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In the YouTube app, tap on your profile icon in the top right corner.
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Choose Settings from the dropdown menu.
[Android Settings Menu Screenshot] -
Select General on the next page.
[Android General Settings Screenshot] -
Tap on Appearance.
[Android Appearance Menu Screenshot] -
Toggle on Dark Theme to enable it. Or choose Use Device Theme to sync YouTube‘s scheme with your system-level mode.
[Android Dark Theme Toggle Screenshot]
Once you toggle dark mode on, YouTube‘s Android app transforms to showcase darker hues!
Customizing Android apps to sync with your device‘s dark mode can prevent jarring bright app transitions at night. But if you prefer a unified dark or light mode, the stand-alone settings let you override device-wide preferences on a per-app basis.
Next let‘s shift our browser-based YouTube experience to the dark side.
Delving into Darkness on Desktop Browsers
In 2018, YouTube rolled out an official dark mode option for desktop web browsers in response to growing user demand.
They faced complaints that the website‘s glaring white backdrop strained eyes late at night. Darker interfaces help ease that eye fatigue.
Here are the steps to enable YouTube‘s dark mode on desktop browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge:
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Ensure you‘re signed into YouTube within your desktop browser, then click on your profile picture.
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Select Appearance from the dropdown menu.
[Desktop Appearance Menu Screenshot] -
Choose Dark Theme to activate dark mode.
[Desktop Dark Theme Toggle Screenshot]
The YouTube website should now showcase darker colors instead of blinding white menus, video descriptions, and page backgrounds!
Like on mobile YouTube apps, you can also have desktop YouTube set to sync either with your computer‘s overall dark/light mode preference, or force it to use a fixed interface shade if desired.
Customizing Additional YouTube and Device Display Settings
Beyond the basic dark mode toggle, both YouTube and your devices offer additional display customization options:
YouTube video player tweaks:
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Adjust video quality under Settings > Video Playback to enable Data Saver and High Picture Quality modes
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Enable HDR if supported on premium YouTube content
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Select Stats for Nerds under the More button to show advanced video details
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Restrict YouTube to a lower maximum resolution if eye strain occurs on higher ones
Device display adjustments:
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Lower brightness below default 100% levels if screens remain too intense
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Enable Blue Light filter/Night Shift modes to warm onscreen colors
-
Magnify text/interface sizes if vision difficulties occur in dark mode
Hopefully this guide has shed some light on how to access YouTube‘s dark dimension across devices! Please let me know in the comments if you have any other questions.
References
- Statista Smartphone User Dark Mode Survey
- Research Square 2021 Dark Mode User Study
- DisplayNinja.com OLED Brightness Measurements
- SciRep – Blue Light Effect on Melatonin Study
- SleepMed – Pre-Sleep Phone Use and Sleep Study
- Apple White Paper on Display Power Efficiency
- Omdia OLED Shipment Report
- Anandtech Battery Drain Testing Methodology
- Frontiers – Brightness and Cognitive Performance Study
