How to enable WhatsApp dark mode on desktop version of Windows or macOS right now

WhatsApp Desktop is getting dark mode with a styling theme change and not in the form of an official update. Here is how you can enable dark theme on WhatsApp Desktop in simple steps.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging service in the world. With over 1.5 billion users around the world, the app is literally connecting people around the world. In order to stay on top of the game, Facebook has added a number of new features to WhatsApp. But one of the most anticipated feature remains Dark Mode. With Android 10 and Apple iOS 13 introducing system-wide dark theme, most apps are already getting the support. WhatsApp was first spotted testing the feature for its Android app in March this year.

While there is no word on when it will become available to all users, there are ways to get dark mode. Back in June, we told you how to activate dark mode on Android or iOS. Now, it seems you can get dark mode on the desktop client as well. WhatsApp is yet to introduce a native app for desktop and it needs a synced version on your phone to work. It is used best for those who use WhatsApp a lot and don’t want to pick their phone every time they get a message. XDA Member m4heshd has created a mod that brings dark theme to the desktop version.

Important things to note before installing

The mod is being introduced as an open-source tweak for the desktop version of WhatsApp. The most important thing being that you need to get the desktop version from WhatsApp directly. It is not compatible with Microsoft Store or App store version of WhatsApp desktop yet. You can directly download the version from this link: https://www.whatsapp.com/download/. It is also important that it is not an official version and since it is open source, developer confirms they cannot tap into your messages or calls.

How to activate dark mode on WhatsApp Desktop

WhatsApp Desktop Dark Mode is not a modded version of WhatsApp and simply injects styling to the source files of current installation. The developer has created an installation script using NodeJS and turned it into an executable file. Here is how you can turn WhatsApp Desktop into Dark Mode:

Step 1: Make sure you have download WhatsApp Desktop directly from the link above.

Step 2: Now download WhatsApp Desktop Dark Mode styling for Windows or macOS from GitHub. Get Windows version from https://github.com/m4heshd/whatsapp-desktop-dark/releases/download/0.3.4479/WADark-0.3.4479-Windows.zip and macOS version from https://github.com/m4heshd/whatsapp-desktop-dark/releases/download/0.3.4479/WADark-0.3.4479-macOS.zip.

Step 3: Now, simply extract the downloaded ZIP file and run WADark.exe or WADark in the root of extracted directory. The developer notes that you should ensure WhatsApp Desktop is running before you start installation. Now, wait for the installation to complete and you will get dark mode.

How to revert back to light mode

The developer also recommends that you do not delete the script folder after the installation. The script automatically creates a backup of your original WhatsApp source in case you want to revert back to light theme. In order to do so, simply rerun the script and it will ask you whether you want to restore to back up version.