A tsunami of dark mode is sweeping the app world: WhatsApp. But finally, the long-awaited WhatsApp dark mode has arrived!

The world's most popular chat app (1.5 billion active users!) has ignored the overwhelming push for dark mode. Plus, it looks cool.

WhatsApp has been rumored to be implementing a dark mode for months. Developers have found traces of code and advanced users have discovered how to hack the app into dark mode.

However, ordinary users have been left out of the dark mode implementation until now. Currently, WhatsApp for Android is available in dark mode.

But don't worry. You do not need a degree in computer engineering to download and install it.

1. go to APK Mirror

First, click here. This will take you to APK Mirror, a repository site that holds copies of Android installation packages. Of course, proceed at your own risk because 1) this is a beta version and 2) this is not hosted in the Google Play Store (don't worry, it's not a beta version). (I have installed it myself, as you can see in the image above).

You will see something like this:

2. Download the WhatsApp beta.

You are now done. Scroll to the bottom and click on the "Download APK" button.

Your browser will download the installation package.

3. Open the APK

When the download is complete, the browser will ask if you want to open the APK Click "YES" or "Open. If it doesn't ask, use the Android file browser app to navigate to the downloads folder. You will find the APK there, click on it to open it.

4. Install WhatsApp beta in dark mode

Android will then ask if you want to install the APK. Answer "yes" again.

5. change to WhatsApp dark mode theme

You are done! Open WhatsApp [Settings] and set it to dark mode - or set it to dark mode automatically according to the battery saver settings.

This is a beta version of WhatsApp and WhatsApp will be updated as usual when the final version is released to the Google Play Store.

The update is nice and polished. It is much better than the previous green-based undefined update.

However! Dark green is used for callouts and accents, but it is still green; I wish WhatsApp would let you choose your accent color.

Another "ugh" with the new WhatsApp dark mode is that you cannot use pitch black for the dark color. The best dark mode apps use 100% black, called AMOLED black. If your phone has an OLED panel, this means that each pixel of black is turned off completely, saving battery life previously.

Many apps offer AMOLED black by default. Some offer an optional choice (e.g. Reddit); WhatsApp uses dark gray, as does Google Photos. This is very annoying, although it saves some electricity, since the darker the color, the less electricity is used.

I wish all apps, including WhatsApp, offered AMOLED black as an option.

But at least WhatsApp has a dark mode. I'm happy with that for now.