The browser simply refuses to save such personal preferences anymore, up until the last update this hasn't been an issue. Before i updated youtube would remember to use dark mode and disable autoplay without fail, now i have to reset these preferences every time i open a new youtube tab. When i open a new tab on youtube the screen starts as if it were in dark mode and then smash-cuts to light mode with autoplay as soon as the video and recommended thumbnails load up. This doesn't happen on Chrome, and when i set my system preferences in the windows options menu it does default to dark mode (but i really hate the systemwide dark mode there).

I could really use some help here if anyone is able to, half of my browsing youtube is in the dead of night and i really don't need the added eye strain every time i want to watch a new video outside of my queue.