Dark Mode has been the talk of the town recently, with several apps falling in line with Android 10's new system-wide setting. While one can choose either a pure black or a dark gray background on an AMOLED display to save similar amounts of battery over a white background, most apps are now offering users an option to choose between a white or a black theme. Popular instant messenger WhatsApp began work on its dark theme back in March 2019, but the theme was never spotted on the devices of end-users, which led many to speculate on whether the app had abandoned the idea of shifting over from their blinding white theme. Thankfully, WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp beta for Android v2.19.282 continues work on a dark theme for the app, as well as on the disappearing messages feature that was previously spotted.
WhatsApp beta for Android v2.19.282 reportedly adds in a new "Theme Settings" section within the app's settings menu.
As expected, Theme Settings contains three options: System default, Light, and Dark. The light theme is familiar to everyone as the current default WhatsApp theme, while the dark theme is the theme that is still under development and only visible through the above screenshots. The "System Default" setting respects the system theme, which comes in handy when you have a theme switching setup based on the time of the day or through other triggers like Tasker.
WhatsApp is also relying on a dark blue color hue instead of pure black, which should serve most needs. However, as is visible in the third screenshot above, the app still needs to adapt some of the theme elements, like the text color in the yellow bubble, to play along well with the theme.
WhatsApp is also adding in more time intervals for the "disappearing messages" feature. An option like 30 days will help keep user's chat history sizes in check, as the messages reportedly completely disappear after deletion. The feature is said to be compatible with groups (admin toggle) and private chats too.
Before you ask, both of these features are still under development, much like fingerprint unlock support and looped videos. There is no ETA on when any of these features will be made available to the public, even through the beta channel. However, if you are a regular user of WhatsApp on Desktop and cannot wait to try out a dark theme, you can check out this unofficial dark theme for WhatsApp for Windows and Mac.
Source: WABetaInfo