YouTube Dark Theme and Incognito mode coming to app, code suggests

YouTube could be on the verge of gaining a new set of handy features, including a Dark Theme and Incognito mode.

The app could also be about to make it slightly easier for users to skip ads on videos.

It isn’t clear when or indeed if the new features will launch, but code found in the app suggests they’re all at least in development.

The code was spotted by 9to5Google, which reports that a Dark Theme could soon come to the app.

Such a move wouldn’t be surprising, since Dark Theme launched on the YouTube website last year.

You can try it out by clicking the account symbol, selecting Dark Theme and turning “Activate Dark Theme” on.

YouTube’s standard, predominantly white theme can be painful to view at night, and a largely black Dark Theme would make for a far more comfortable user experience.

A new Incognito mode, which would let users search for and watch videos without them appearing in their history, could also be on its way to the YouTube app.

Code suggests it could also use the same icon that’s used for Incognito mode on Google Chrome.

Though the YouTube app already lets you pause your watch and search history, the feature is buried in the Settings menu, and it isn’t immediately obvious when it’s enabled.

Future versions of the YouTube app could also let you skip ads by swiping them away, rather than tapping a button in the bottom-right corner of the video window.

Google, which owns YouTube, collects detailed data on people’s viewing habits, using them to customise suggested videos.

You can find out more here and look at what YouTube knows about you by visiting My Activity.