Twitter made its dark mode even darker on iOS – Here’s how to turn it on

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Fans of dark modes in apps can add one more popular app to the list of true dark modes. Twitter for iOS starts rolling out Lights Out mode, which turns the background of the app completely black. That’s good news for folks who don’t want to blind themselves when they’re scrolling their feed 2 am, or if they want to eke out some more battery life from their phone’s OLED screen.

Twitter has had a night mode for a couple of years now, but it was more of a darker purple than black, and while it saved your eyesight, it probably didn’t do much to your battery life. Now it’s pure black, which should get you some extra tweeting time.

Also rolling out with the new feature is another welcome addition that has been part of the Android app for two years now – the ability to automatically turn Night mode off and on based on when sunrise and sunset are. That’s great if you want the normal Twitter experience during the day, while still saving your eyesight at night.

For now, the new Lights Out mode will only be on iOS. Twitter has told Engadget that Android and Web users will get the feature “soon,” but without a firm timeline, it’s anyone’s guess how long “soon” is.

How to turn off the lights with Twitter’s Lights Out feature

Image: TNW

Okay so once you’ve got the update that adds the new Twitter Lights Out mode on iOS, here’s how to enable it:

• Pick up your iPhone and open the Twitter app
• Using those skills honed from years of Tinder use, swipe right to get to the settings, then head to Settings and privacy> Display and sound.
• Then use your Instagram skills to tap on the dark mode toggle, and select the Lights Out option

That’s it, now your retinas and Retina display will thank you, as your Twitter app will be as dark as the pits in my soul. You can see the difference vs. the not-quite-black-maybe-blue color of the prior Night Mode in the example above.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.