How to get dark mode on Snapchat

Recently, Snapchat has made an update that has given it a new look. This update has brought with it some controversy as well as excitement.  Most importantly, this update brings with it dark mode.

As of right now, you can either turn on Dark Mode in Map Settings or in the Snapchats settings under ‘Manage’ in the ‘Additional Services’ tab.  In Map Settings Dark Mode can be turned on or off depending on whether you want to use it or not.  In Snapchat’s settings, however, it can only be set to “Always On” if your phone is updated to iOS 11.1+.  If you do not have this update, then the dark mode will have no effect on your Snapchat app.

To get access to the option in map settings, go into your Snapchat camera and swipe left until you find a new menu that looks like a circle with 4 lines radiating out of it at various angles. This button can also be reached by doing a pinch gesture with two fingers that have been enabled in Snapchat settings.

In order to get access to the option in your Snapchat’s settings, swipe right from the camera until you find a gear symbol on a white background. Tap this and scroll down until you see “Manage” under “Additional Services” with some other options.  Tap it and select “manage.” This will bring up all of your additional Snapchat services including dark mode.

For android phone users

If your device is running Android 7.0 or later follow these steps:

1. Go into Settings
2. Select Apps
3. Find Snapchat
4. Select Permissions
5. Scroll Down
6. Enable ‘Night Mode’

iOS 10

If your iPhone is running iOS 10 or newer, then you can enable Dark Mode by following this path in the Settings Menu:

1. Select General
2. Tap Accessibility
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Display Accommodations
4. Enable Invert Colors
5. Under Smart Inversion, select Photos, and Camera (this will ensure that photos and videos show up properly in Dark Mode).

iOS 10.2

If your device is running iOS 10.2 or newer, you can enable dark mode in Snapchat’s settings by going into “manage” under Additional Services and tapping on dark mode. It should then read “set as wallpaper” which you will want to change to “always on.” This will not work if your phone is not updated past iOS 11.1+.

For android phones follow the steps below:

1. Go into your phone’s settings
2. Select about the phone
3. Find the section that says System updates
4. Tap that
5. If there is an update available, then select it
6. Your device should download and install the update
7. After the update has been downloaded, restart your device
8. Once restarted open Snapchat
9. Dark Mode should now be enabled.

iOS 11

For iPhones running iOS 11 follow this path in Settings:

1. Go into Settings
2. Scroll down to Snapchats settings
3. Select Manage
4. Look for “Additional Services”
5. Underneath “Additional Services” you will see color filters
6. At the top of color filters, you can enable Dark Mode. If Dark mode does not show up on color filters then you will need to update your iOS.

What elements in Snapchat now work with dark mode? Anything that is white now has a black background and vice versa.  This is the case for most of the screens within Snapchat including lenses, chat messages, settings menu, and any other features showing white.  However, some screens still have parts that turn white when dark mode is enabled such as My Story Highlights and Snapcodes screen. I personally love the addition of dark mode to Snapchat’s new update but with such a large change there are bound to be issued.