The team of the popular YouTube site from Google is constantly working to develop and improve its project. At the end of April 2017, a black YouTube design running on the faster and more convenient Polymer engine was presented to a special group of testers. After conducting these tests and studying user reviews, the developers closed access to the “night mode”, leaving those who did not have time to try the innovation with nothing. In this material I will try to help such users and tell you how to make YouTube design in black, and what methods will help us with this.
Let's figure out how to enable test "night mode" on YouTube
Since after testing, the developers quickly canceled the ability to make YouTube black (promising activation of this functionality in the future), users were left with two main tools to activate this function, namely:
In the first case, the “night mode” was activated by going to the YouTube website, preferably in the Google Chrome browser (you must have a YouTube account and be logged in to it). Then it was necessary to press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+I (turn on developer mode in the browser), in the window that opens, switch to the console tab, and enter one of the following lines in it, not forgetting to then press “Enter”:
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE"
document.cookie=”PREF=f6=4;path=/;domain=.youtube.com”
document.cookie=»VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE; path=/"
After this, it was necessary to refresh the page, click on the icon of your YouTube account (an activation/deactivation lever for “Night mode” should appear there). And move this lever to the on state (in some cases, choosing English instead of Russian in the YouTube settings below before entering the line in the console also helped).
Activation of the “night mode” is done by switching the corresponding lever At the moment, the specified functionality is not active (the reader can independently try to use the mentioned testing tools). Therefore, the user is left with the use of various browser extensions that allow them to easily and conveniently switch to “Night Mode”.
We use browser extensions to switch to “Night mode” on YouTube
There are several popular extensions that allow you to color YouTube black. For example, these are the following tools:
Black background in Yandex browser
Using “night mode” in Yandex.Browser is no different from using it in the Google Chrome browser. You can try using the console to enter the appropriate commands (activation via Ctrl+Shift+I). And also install extensions from the Chrome or Opera extension and add-on stores (since Yandex.Browser also uses the Chromium engine, the specified extensions should suit it well).
Switching to YouTube night mode in Yandex.Browser is no different from other browsers based on the Chromium core Conclusion
In this material, I looked at various ways to convert the YouTube design into a dark color. An effective and efficient method of changing the design to black is to use various browser extensions that make it easy to use “night mode” on this resource. Using the console, which worked perfectly in April-May 2017, now does not give any tangible results.
Google introduced an updated and improved design YouTube. The list of striking differences includes “Night Mode” - a hosting version with a black background. Today one of the most attentive users was able to discover that in YouTube It became possible to enable "dark mode". Google continuously works on its services and programs, including the latest features and visual improvements. It is clear that innovations are first tested in a narrow circle of users. And the most important thing is that now all the capabilities of this function are available, although for now, to owners of smartphones based on the IOS system. But soon, according to video hosting developers, this function will affect all platforms.
And so, in order to activate dark mode in the YouTube application, we need, in addition to the application itself, the " " service
1) First of all, download and launch the “Preferences Manager” program
2) We look for the “YouTube” application in the list
3) Open the file youtube.xml
4) Enter in the search bar "dark"
5) In both points you need to change the parameter false on true. If they are not there, you must add them manually using the “+” symbol in the upper right corner. 
6) Then save the changes and restart the application.
7) Let's use it! Dark mode will especially appeal to users who often
spend time watching videos on YouTube at night.
Do you need a YouTube dark theme or just want to test it out? Then let's do it.
Recently, more and more news has been coming out on various Internet resources that Google is actively working on updating the user interface for the world's most popular video service, YouTube. You've probably heard about this too!
The service should get a new theme with dark colors. And today, a certain number of selected users have already gained access to the appropriate settings in their account and started testing.
The ultimate goal for the search giant Google, in my opinion, is to collect the most complete information about the functioning of a topic, both positive and negative, from a certain group of users. After this, I think, a final decision will be made to provide the ability to switch the design of their account to all users of the video service, without exception.
And for those who are not yet lucky (me too), I can recommend using a small hack that can now provide you with the necessary tools to switch the theme from light to the tested dark one and back.
I note that after I activated and tested the night mode for my YouTube account, without regret I returned back to the day mode, which turned out to be more familiar. But despite this, you must decide for yourself what you need.
Here's how to quickly access the feature you need in the Mozilla Firefox browser. The same can be done in any other modern web browser that comes with built-in developer tools (Chrome, Opera, etc.).
YOUTUBE DARK THEME
Launch your web browser, go to YouTube, sign in to your account, and then press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + K. In the Developer Console, issue the following command:
Document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE"
and press the Enter key.
Refresh your browser with F5 or Ctrl + F5 to reload all cached elements of the web page. Close the Developer Console and click on your profile icon in the upper right corner.
You'll see a new custom menu with a number of new options and the desired appearance mode switch. I don't think you need to explain further steps :).
Google has just released an update to its YouTube app for Android that finally includes the long-awaited dark theme. Google first released the YouTube Dark theme for its website last year, but Android users haven't received an update in a while, while iOS users updated to the Dark Theme a few months ago.
The new Dark Theme for YouTube is included in YouTube app version 13.35, which is currently rolling out worldwide. If you haven't received the official update yet, you can install it manually by downloading the signed APK from APK Mirror.
If you're tired of being blinded by YouTube's white UI while watching videos, then follow the steps below to enable dark theme on YouTube.
Enable YouTube dark theme
- Install the latest YouTube update for Android
- Open the YouTube app
- You will be prompted to enable the new YouTube dark theme
Manually enable YouTube dark theme in settings
If you choose not to enable the new YouTube dark theme when prompted the first time you open the app after installing the update, follow the instructions below.
In 2016, bloggers accidentally found a test version of the updated, more minimalist design of YouTube.com. In May 2017, it became known: testing has not yet been completed, but Google is already offering the updated YouTube “look” as an option, and anyone can use it.
In contact with
The redesign was based on the principles of the design language that Google has implemented in the latest versions of Android.
Fred Gilbert, Head of User Experience at YouTube:
“We don't want the UI to interfere with users. Content should always come first.”
What has changed in the updated YouTube?
- The titles of the videos, which were in blue font, are now black and are not distracting;
- “Trimmed” the sidebar menu;
- The YouTube logo, search bar and channel icons have become smaller (and the latter are also round).
- New videos now automatically load when you scroll down (you no longer need to click the “More” button).
Needless to say, it turned out great, and returning to the old version of YouTube leaves a painful impression.
But there are changes not only externally, but also “under the hood”. The new YouTube site runs on the Polymer framework.
Thanks to it, the service works a little faster, but the most important thing here is that Polymer allows you to add new functions - such as night mode (how to enable it is described below). The latter changes the light “background” to black, and as a result, watching videos at night becomes much more comfortable - the black color does not “hurt” the eyes.”
Want to upgrade to YouTube's new design? Then just go via this link and press Try it.
Without a doubt, many users would not mind the appearance of a dark mode in all applications and services, reducing eye strain. Google is constantly improving its programs and services, adding new features to them.
One of these innovations affected YouTube video hosting. Attentive users have noticed that YouTube has added a hidden mode that changes the white background of the web interface to gray and black.
How to enable YouTube dark mode
Click on your YouTube avatar and in the menu that opens, activate the option “ Dark mode" After this, a dark theme should appear. 
