How To Enable YouTube’s ‘Dark Mode’ On iOS

iOS: Staring at bright screens – especially at night – can be a pain in the butt and/or eyes. And it’s difficult to resist the temptation for “just one more video…” when you’re settling down for the evening. Thankfully, Google just updated the YouTube app for iOS to include the same kind of “Dark Mode” you’ll find on its web site, which should make your evening cat video binges a little easier.

Totally not creepy or anything, Google.Screenshot: David Murphy

Here’s how to set it up. (Android users – your version is “coming soon”.)

If you only knew the power of the Dark Mode

Open the YouTube app on iOS. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a little notification at the bottom of app that mentions the new “Dark” theme and asks you if you’d like to turn it on. To try it out, just tap “Turn on” – easy as that.

If you don’t see this notification, or if you want to equip your Magic Mirror and warp back to the Light World, tap on your picture in the app’s upper-right corner. From there, tap Settings, and look for the “Dark theme” option under the YouTube header. Tap the little slider to flick the theme and off, just like a digital light switch.

If you don’t see the Dark theme, make sure you’re running the latest version of YouTube from the App Store.