How to Enable Facebook Messenger Dark Mode

Facebook has finally rolled out its dark mode feature after months of testing. Simply put, Facebook Messenger dark mode allows you to switch to a dark (black) theme that is much easier on the eyes. So how do you turn on dark mode on Facebook Messenger?

Enabling dark mode on Messenger is not as simple as pressing a button, which is quite strange as the application is known for its simplicity and ease of use. Maybe the engineers over at Menlo Park wanted to spice things up a bit and came up with a novel way to activate this feature. Whatever the reason is, we’re here to guide you on how to activate Facebook Messenger dark mode so you can take advantage of this cool feature.

First things first, make sure that your Messenger app is updated to the latest version. If you’ve already enabled automatic updates, there’s no need to check if your app is up to date. If not, open Google Play and manually update Messenger to the latest version.

Now here comes the fun part. To start enabling dark mode, just send a “moon crescent” emoji to anyone on Messenger. You can even send it to yourself.

If you have difficulty in finding the moon crescent emoji, you can search for it on your keyboard application’s emoji collection. Take note that not just any “moon” emoji can be used, it must be a crescent shape as shown on the screenshot below.

Afterward, a shower of moon crescent emojis will show up on your screen. A prompt will soon appear with the message: “You Found Dark Mode!” Tap “Turn on in Settings.”

This will show you the option to toggle dark mode. Toggle on dark mode by tapping it.

A popup will appear with the message: “Work in Progress. While we put the finishing messages on dark mode, it won’t appear everywhere on Messenger.” Tap “OK.”

Congratulations! You have activated the Facebook Messenger dark mode feature.

To turn off dark mode on Facebook Messenger, simply tap your profile photo at the top of the screen and then toggle off dark mode. You can turn this feature on or off anytime you want. If you uninstall or delete the app, you will have to perform the activation process all over again.

Facebook Messenger dark mode is only available on Android and iOS. Hopefully, this feature will soon be available on the web version although there’s not much benefit in enabling dark mode on your desktop computer or laptop.

So what are the benefits of using dark mode on Facebook Messenger? For one, it reduces eye fatigue and damage to your vision. A darker screen minimizes the amount of high-energy visible light entering your eyes and causing damage to sensitive areas. This is especially important if you use your smartphone in the dark.

White screens can also disrupt your normal sleep pattern. Artificial light from smartphones can affect the neurons in your brain that control your natural sleep cycle. A dark or black screen can help with your sleep and ward off insomnia caused by heavy smartphone use.

A dark screen can also help prolong battery life. Google confirmed that using dark mode can reduce power consumption by as much as 60%. So if your phone is running out of power, just remember to switch on dark mode so that your battery will last much longer.

There you have it. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends so that they can also benefit from Facebook Messenger dark mode.