Oliver Haslam on April 14, 2017, 10:48 am

How To Enable YouTube Dark Mode Theme Right Now

Dark modes in apps are all the rage right now, and with good reason. Not only do dark modes look super cool, but they also have a functional benefit in that they help to reduce eye strain, particularly at night.

Google has been testing dark modes across its services, and now YouTube is also getting some attention. YouTube’s dark interface is not yet available as standard, but if you are a Google Chrome user, then there is a way you can give the new blacked out YouTube interface a try right now.

Now, it is worth noting that this will only work on the web-based version of YouTube, and only when using Google Chrome. We’ve had some hit and miss results however, so it is possible that there are some other limitations in place such as geographic location and such. Bear that in mind when trying this at home.

So, if you want to get into YouTube’s Dark Mode, here is what you need to do:

Step 1: Open Google Chrome, sign in to youtube.com, and then fire up the Chrome DevTools via either of the two methods below.

On a Windows PC, press Ctrl + Shift + I.
On Mac, the shortcut is Option + Command + I.

Step 2: Next up, find the Console tab and click it. It’s towards the top of the new panel that just appeared.

Step 3: Finally, paste one of the following commands into the console and then press enter. If the first does not work, the second one may well do.

document.cookie=”PREF=f6=4;path=/;domain=.youtube.com”;
document.cookie=”VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE; path=/”
document.cookie=”VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE”

Step 4: Close developer tools and refresh youtube.com. You should notice a slightly altered interface right off the bat.

Step 5: Click your YouTube profile image and then select the new Dark Mode option.

Step 6: Toggle Dark Mode on and the page should immediately update.

If Dark Mode does not appear for you, then you may still see the updated interface, so there’s that at least.