The world’s largest online encyclopedia is stepping into the shadows – at least for some users. Wikipedia has quietly rolled out a dark mode option for its desktop site, catering to night owls and those who prefer a less eye-straining browsing experience.
This new feature, which has been available “since July” according to Wikipedia’s support page, is currently in an experimental phase. As of now, it’s exclusive to logged-in users on the English-language version of the site. To access this nocturnal makeover, users need to dive into their account preferences and activate the setting manually. In our case, we were able to do this by going to any Wikipedia page (as a logged-in user) and from the sidebar panel (at the very bottom) selecting the Color mode as Dark.
It’s worth noting that the dark mode is only compatible with Wikipedia’s default view, known as Vector 2022. Users who prefer alternative layouts will have to stick with the classic light theme for now. The color palette for this shadowy transformation adheres to the Wikimedia Foundation’s official scheme, ensuring a cohesive visual experience.
While mobile users have long enjoyed the option to dim their screens via Wikipedia’s Android and iOS apps, as well as the mobile web view, desktop users have been left squinting in the digital daylight – until now. This move brings the desktop experience in line with its more portable counterparts.
Wikipedia hasn’t made any grand announcements about this feature, perhaps preferring to let it spread organically among its user base. However, the encyclopedia giant has hinted at future plans to extend dark mode access to non-logged-in users once the test phase concludes.
