Facebook Lite for Android picks up dark mode before the main app does

Ben Schoon | Feb 15 2020 - 9:54 am PT

Dark mode has been rolling out to a lot of apps on Android since the system-wide toggle arrived last year, but there have been a few holdouts. One app that’s not picked up dark mode yet is Facebook, but its Lite counterpart has just added the functionality.

While the main Facebook app on Android still doesn’t have a dark mode, several apps the company owns do. Instagram, Messenger, and most recently WhatsApp have all added the functionality over the past few months. Now, Facebook Lite is being added to that list with its latest app update.

Dark mode for Facebook Lite encompasses the entire app from the feed to your profile to settings and more. As with many other Android apps, especially Google’s, this dark mode is using a dark gray color instead of true black. Personally, that’s the option I prefer since it doesn’t produce a “tearing” effect when scrolling.

For those unaware, Facebook Lite is a stripped-down version of the normal Facebook app. Most of the core functionality is there, but there are fewer animations and features. Generally, this version of the app gets new features well behind the normal Facebook app, something that makes this dark mode arrival a nice surprise. The manual dark mode toggle appears in the settings menu. Notably, though, this is still a server-side rollout that not everyone will see immediately.