It looks like Android users are finally starting to see the dark theme available on YouTube

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It took a while, but YouTube for Android is finally receiving a dark theme. A Reddit user first discovered the new feature before Android Police confirmed it.

For months, YouTube has offered a dark theme on its iOS app and through the web. However, for whatever reason, it hadn’t arrived on Android devices until now. According to Redditor u/Absinth92, the option became available over the week.

Android Police then explained,

The dark mode is automatically appearing on some people’s YouTube apps, and some are saying that they’ve seen a notice about it pop up on the bottom of their screen. The reddit user who uploaded the screenshots notes that he’s using a Pixel 2 on Android P Beta 4, he’s not a Premium user, and he’d had dark mode enabled on his desktop, though we’re not sure if there’s any connection there.

Once activated, you’ll find the dark theme in the YouTube app under Settings > General. There is no guarantee currently that it will even be there for you, as it seems to be a limited rollout, but there are ways to force the dark theme for YouTube.

If you want to begin using the theme now, you can follow the directions posted on the XDA Developers Forum. Previously, it required root access, but now there is a way to access it without a rooted phone. It will still require a few steps, so it might not be for everyone.

Plan on using the dark theme for YouTube on Android? Did you try any of the workarounds above? Let us know!

In other tech news, see:

• How to make YouTube five times faster if you don’t use Chrome
• A Mozilla program manager says Google is slowing down YouTube for anyone not using Chrome
• Alex Jones’ YouTube channel was hit with a strike for hate speech – imagine that

Bryan M. Wolfe

Bryan considers himself a well-rounded techie, having written articles for MakeUseOf, KnowTechie, AppAdvice, iDownload Blog. When he's not writing, he's being a single dad and rooting for his alma mater, Penn State, or cheering on the Patriots.