Many people look at screens for hours on end. It doesn’t matter if someone uses a screen to code a program or watch tutorial videos; by the end of the day, users generally need to rest their eyes. If you are one of these people but still need to look at screens, Google Chrome’s Dark mode comes in handy.
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Lights on, or lights off. The choice is yours.
Why you want to browse using Dark mode
Many smart devices and apps have special display modes designed to reduce eye strain. Usually, programs lower a screen’s brightness or use more eye-friendly colors. Examples include Kindle’s Warm Light mode and the Dark mode in apps such as Google Drive and, the focus of this article, Google Chrome.
During daytime use, most apps default to a “Light” viewing mode, usually consisting of high-contrast black text on a white background. Dark mode fittingly reverses this palette and uses white text on a black (or gray) background. While Dark mode apps still project light, they project less than Light mode apps due to a focus on darker colors. This change is easier on the eyes and can also reduce battery use.
How to manually enable Dark mode on PC
Google Chrome is available on multiple platforms, including PCs, smartphones, and iOS devices. As far as web browsing is concerned, the program functions identically across operating systems. However, Google Chrome’s Dark mode counts as a display setting. Since PCs and Macs don’t handle screen settings the same way, you have to follow different activation methods depending on your platform.
If you are using Google Chrome on a Windows PC, follow these steps:
1. Open Google Chrome or open a new tab.
2. Click on the Customize Chrome button in the bottom-right corner of the screen (it’s the button with the pencil icon).
3. Select the Dark option on the right of the screen (the option with the crescent moon).
Once you have selected Dark mode, you can further customize your browser by selecting a variety of colors underneath the theme switcher. Each set of hues will change Google Chrome’s trim (e.g., the color of the window bar at the top of the screen). However, these alterations will carry over to the Light theme as well; in order to swap Light mode’s colors back to your original choice, you will have to reselect them.
How to manually enable Dark mode on Android
If you are using Google Chrome on an Android device, here’s how to turn on Dark mode:
1. Open Google Chrome or open a new tab.
2. Tap on the More icon in the upper-right corner (the three vertical dots).
3. Scroll down and tap Settings.
4. Scroll down to Theme and tap on it.
5. Select the Dark option.
Since the mobile version of Google Chrome has to make do with smaller screens, this browser eschews accent colors. Unfortunately, this shortcoming prevents users from further customizing their smartphone’s browser; they can only use vanilla Light and vanilla Dark themes.
How to manually enable Dark mode on iOS
Unlike other versions, copies of Google Chrome that run on iOS are linked to their devices’ displays. You can’t set Google Chrome to Dark mode individually, but you can set your gadget to Dark mode, which will affect every app you use – Google Chrome included. The process is relatively straightforward:
1. Open the Settings menu.
2. Scroll down and tap on Display & Brightness.
3. Under the Appearance tab, select Dark.
Once your iOS device is set to Dark mode, just open Google Chrome. The browser will greet you with its Dark theme.
How to enable an automatic Dark mode on PC
Many people use Google Chrome’s Dark mode for late-night browsing. After all, this mode’s darker colors allegedly don’t mess with circadian rhythms as much as Light mode windows. However, swapping between Light and Dark mode and back again day after day is annoying. So, programmers implemented options to make Google Chrome automatically shift modes depending on a schedule and/or its device’s current display setting.
Here’s how to set up Google Chrome’s automatic mode shift on computers:
1. Open Google Chrome or open a new tab.
2. Click on the Customize Chrome button in the bottom-right corner of the screen (it’s the button with the pencil icon).
3. Select the Device option on the right of the screen (the option with the screen icon).
Once again, you can further customize Google Chrome with a series of selectable colors underneath the theme setting. Unlike the manual Dark mode, Device mode ties Google Chrome to your computer’s display; once your PC enters Dark mode, Google Chrome follows close behind. Here’s how to do this manually on Windows 10:
1. Click the Start button (the one that looks like the Windows icon).
2. Click on Settings (the gear icon).
3. Select Personalization (the icon that looks like a paintbrush on a computer screen).
4. Click on Colors.
5. Under Choose your colorselect Dark.
If your computer runs on Windows 11, you have to follow these instructions instead:
1. Click the Start button (the Windows icon).
2. Click on Settings (the gear icon).
3. Select Personalization.
4. Click on Colors
5. Scroll to Choose your mode and select Dark.
As with Google Chrome’s Dark mode, you can select an accent color. Unfortunately, Windows does not let you schedule Dark mode shifts right out of the box. For that, you need to create a custom task (via HowToGeek):
1. Type Task Scheduler into the search bar on your computer’s taskbar and select the Task Scheduler icon.
2. Select Actionand then select Create Task.
3. Type in a name for this task. It could be “Automatic Dark Theme,” “Switch to Dark Mode,” or something random. Then click Next.
4. Select Run whether user is logged on or not and check the box next to Do not store password. The task will only have access to local computer resources.
5. Click on the Triggers tab, then click the New button.
6. Under Settingsselect Daily and choose the start time. Do not change the start date.
7. Click the OK button.
8. Click on the Actions tab, and then click on the New button.
9. Make sure Actions is set to Start a Program.
10. Type reg into the Program/Script line
11. In the Add Arguments line, type the following: add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionThemesPersonalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
12. Click the OK button.
13. Repeat steps 8 through 12 to create another action, except this time type the following into Add Arguments:
add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionThemesPersonalize /v SystemUsesLightTheme/t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
14. Click on the Settings tab.
15. Check the box next to Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed.
16. Check the box next to If the task fails restart everyand make sure the box to the far right is set to 1 minute.
17. Set the box next to Attempt to restart up to as high or low as you want.
18. Click on the Conditions tab.
19. Make sure the box next to Start the task only if the computer is on AC power is unchecked.
20. Click the OK button.
21. Repeat steps 2 through 20 to create a new task that will automatically turn Dark mode off. For this task, select different times to run and type the following codes into the Program/Script lines:
add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionThemesPersonalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
and
add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionThemesPersonalize /v SystemUsesLightTheme/t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
If these automation tasks don’t work, you can ask for help on a programming or Windows forum/subreddit for assistance.
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How to enable an automatic Dark mode on Mac
Unlike Windows, Mac lets you schedule nightly Dark mode transitions. Since you can tie Google Chrome’s Dark mode to general display settings via the Display mode, one automatic change affects the other.
To enable nightly changes, set up your Mac’s Night Shift schedule:
1. Click on the Apple menu.
2. Select System Settings.
3. Scroll down and select Displays (in the sidebar).
4. Use the Schedule option to make Night Shift automatically turn on and off at certain times.
5. Alternatively, use Turn on until tomorrow to immediately turn on Night Shift.
Once Night Shift is set up, you can move on to changing your Mac’s display:
1. Click on the Apple menu button (the one that looks like the Apple logo).
2. Select System Settings.
3. Scroll down to and click Appearance (in the sidebar).
4. Select Auto to make Mac switch to Dark mode when your computer enters Night Shift.
5. Alternatively, select Dark to permanently set your computer to Dark mode until you change it back.
You can further customize your Mac’s Night Shift hues with the Color temperature option.
How to enable an automatic Dark mode on Android
When you open Google Chrome f or the first time on an Android smartphone or tablet, the browser’s theme will be set to “System Default.” This setting displays Google Chrome in Light mode until the device enters its own Dark mode or activates its Battery Saver.
To turn on your Android phone’s Dark mode, follow these instructions:
1. Swipe down on your phone’s screen.
2. Open the Settings menu (the gear icon in the upper right corner).
3. Tap on Display.
4. Select Dark to set your phone’s display to Dark mode. Google Chrome will follow suit.
5. Alternatively, tap Dark mode settings and set Turn on as scheduled to make Dark mode switch on and off depending on the time.
6. Select Sunset to sunrise to make the phone’s Dark mode change with the sun, or select Custom schedule to set your preferred Dark mode times.
So long as your Android device’s browser is set to “System Default,” Google Chrome will change to Dark mode along with the phone. If it doesn’t, follow these steps to reactivate that setting:
1. Open Google Chrome or open a new tab.
2. Tap on the More icon in the upper-right corner (the three vertical dots).
3. Scroll down and tap Settings.
4. Scroll down to Theme and tap on it.
5. Select the System Default option.
With your Android phone back to “System Default,” your device will automatically change to Dark mode when you are in low light settings.