Welcome to the DARK side! Facebook rolls out desktop redesign to all users that includes the Dark Mode feature
- Facebook rolled out an updated version of the desktop site to a select few in January
- Now, the firm is making the redesign available to all of its users
- The update includes the Dark Mode feature to improve screen viewing
- It also lets users see Groups, events and pages before the set them live
Facebook has gone to the dark side.
The social media giant rolled out its desktop redesign for all of its users that includes the Dark Mode feature.
The new addition aims to minimize screen glare in low-light environments, while improving viewing videos on Watch – the firm’s video-on-demand service.
The new design has more space and large fonts in the columns that line each side of the news feed, making it easier to find pages, groups and events.
The updated version launched earlier this year to a small group of Facebook users under the code name ‘FB5’ but is now available to the more than 2 billion users.
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Facebook olled out its desktop redesign for all of its users that includes the Dark Mode feature
To convert to the new site, tap the down arrow on the top-right of your screen and choose ‘switch to new Facebook.’
The overhaul was originally announced last April at Facebook’s annual developer’s conference in San Francisco, where the company explained some of the changes it that would be coming.
Mark Zuckerberg promised the new layout would be fresher and more modern, downplaying the famous blue frame that was once a prominent part of the site.
‘This isn’t just about building features, we need to change a lot of the ways we run this company today,’ he said last year.
The new design has more space and large fonts in the columns that line each side of the news feed, making it easier to find pages, groups and events
To unlock the Dark Mode feature, users toggle the option on the upper-right side of the desktop site.
Along with improving the visual experience, the redesign also makes it easier for users to create events, pages and groups, along with launching ads on the platform.
Users can now preview a new group before setting it live and can see what it looks like on the mobile app before creating it.
The firm has also added a new streamlined navigation that lets users find videos, games and Groups easier than before.
And the home page and page transitions are also said to load faster now – similar to the mobile experience, Facebook said.
To convert to the new site, tap the down arrow on the top-right of your screen and choose ‘switch to new Facebook’
‘The new Facebook.com is simpler and easier to use, with the features you know and love,’ Facebook shared in the announcement.
‘We’ll keep improving the experience — go to the Settings Menu and click Give Feedback to share feedback.
The social media giant has rolled out Dark Mode to both Messenger and Whatsapp in the past, but has noted that it may have let the desktop version of Facebook fall behind.
‘We’ve grown since Facebook .com launched 16 years ago,’ the company writes.
‘We’ve built new features, optimized for new devices and operating systems, and expanded to hundreds of languages.
‘Recently we’d focused on the mobile Facebook experience, and realized our desktop site had fallen behind. People need it to keep up.’