The Facebook app's dark mode is now being publicly tested on iOS

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By Oliver Haslam
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What you need to know

  • Facebook's dark mode is now being tested publicly.
  • You can check whether you have it available to you now.
  • It isn't available to everyone just yet.

Facebook is now testing a new dark mode publicly, giving iOS users the chance to make the social network even darker than it already is. Users won't need to download any new apps or anything – the change is enabled server-side, allowing Facebook to enable it remotely.

Users can now check whether they have access to the new dark mode option, but it's worth noting that it won't be on all devices just yet. Facebook seems to be rolling it out to specific users although there's no telling what criteria it's using.

Here's how to enable Facebook's dark mode – assuming it's available to you.

  1. Open the Facebook app and tap the three lines in the corner of the screen.
  2. Tap Settings and Privacy.
  3. Enable **Dark Mode* if the option is available.
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Apart from looking better – arguably, at least – dark mode could theoretically save battery life. Especially with the new iPhone 12 lineup all sporting OLED screens. But if you're spending long enough in the Facebook app for that to move the needle, you've probably got bigger problems to worry about than getting another 15 minutes out of your battery.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.