How to Enable YouTube's Secret Dark Mode in Chrome

If you prefer using dark modes on websites, you’ll be happy to know that the option is now available on YouTube as pointed out on Reddit. But it will require delving into your browser’s developer tools to activate the new YouTube layout.

How to Enable YouTube's Secret Dark Mode in Chrome

Step 1: Access Developer Tools

The first thing to do is go to YouTube and make sure that you’re logged in before you access your browser’s developer tools.

Google Chrome

To access Chrome’s developer tools, go to View > Developer >  Developer Tools and go to the Console Tab. You can also get there by using the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Option + I on Mac or Ctrl + Shift + I on Windows.

Opera

Go to View > Show Developer Tools. When the Developer Menu shows up in the menu go to Developer > Developer Tools. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Option + I on Mac or Ctrl + Shift + I on Windows.

Firefox

Go to Tools > Web Developer > Web Console or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Option + K on Mac or Ctrl + Shift + K on Windows.

You can’t access developer tools in the regular download of Safari.

Step 2: Enter the Code

Paste the following into the web console:

var cookieDate = new Date();
cookieDate.setFullYear(cookieDate.getFullYear( ) + 1);
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE; expires=" + cookieDate.toGMTString( ) + "; path=/";

Step 3: Refresh the Page

Close the console and refresh the page. You’ll know it worked if the page looks like this:

Step 4: Enable Dark Mode

Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner and click on Dark Mode.

You can then toggle the feature on.

When enabled, YouTube’s dark mode will look like this:

How to Turn Off Dark Mode in Youtube

If you would like to revert to the original layout, paste the following in the console:

var cookieDate = new Date();
cookieDate.setFullYear(cookieDate.getFullYear( ) - 1);
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=fPQ4jCL6EiE; expires=" + cookieDate.toGMTString( ) + "; path=/";

Close the console and refresh the page, and YouTube should be back to how it looked before.

There are some drawbacks to using this layout. It removes the Google Chromecast button from the video — but you should still be able to cast videos from the browser button.

Source: Makeuseof