Screenshot catches Facebook's Android app in Dark mode

The latest Android app to join the Dark mode club is not a Google-developed app, but instead is one of the most popular third party listings with over 5 billion installs. It also drains your phone's battery and who knows what the heck it is doing in the background. Of course, we are talking about the one and only Facebook. Now it is easy to jump on the "bash" Facebook train these days and the company is one of four big tech names (along with Apple, Amazon, and Google) being investigated by the House Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department for possible antitrust violations. But that hasn't stopped it from developing Dark mode for the Android app.

Messenger already does have a Dark mode option, and the Facebook website offers one too. It would appear that Facebook first started testing this a couple of months ago, as one Reddit user has posted a screenshot showing how the app appeared in Dark mode a few months ago. Just as quickly as Dark mode appeared, it disappeared. After that, whenever this Redditor tried to force Dark mode from the Pixel Settings, he would see white boxes telling him that it wasn't possible to force a "good looking" Dark mode for Facebook.

For those not familiar with Dark mode, it inverts the typical UI found on a smartphone. Instead of seeing black text on a white background, the UI shows white text on a black background; this will prevent users from having their retinas melted by a searing white background when viewing an app in a dark room or at night. It also will increase battery life on handsets sporting an AMOLED display. That is because the color black is created on an OLED panel by turning off the pixels in the appropriate areas. Pixels that are turned off do not create a draw on the battery. This little trick requires a Dark mode that uses a real black background as opposed to the gray that is sometimes used.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has also been testing various versions of Dark mode as we discussed earlier this month. Like WhatsApp, Facebook seems to be taking its time rolling out Dark mode for the Android app. When it arrives, there are bound to be quite a few Android users happy not to have their eyes irritated or strained when they view Facebook at night.