Key Takeaways
- Easily switch Google Chrome into dark mode on any device for a more comfortable browsing experience.
- Follow simple instructions to enable dark mode for Chrome on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, providing a fresh new look and reducing glare.
- For a more comprehensive dark mode experience, force websites to display inverted colors by following a few additional steps in Chrome settings.
No matter whether you’re using a desktop platform or a mobile phone, Google Chrome can be easily switched into dark mode, giving you an experience that’s far easier on the eyes for those late-night Google searches. If you want to go a step further, you can even force websites with a light theme to display inverted colors, giving you a dark background and light-colored text.
If you’re looking to conserve battery life on your mobile, reduce the glare from your desktop monitor, or just want a fresh new look, here are some step-by-step instructions on how to enable it on Windows, macOS, Android, and iPhone.
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How to turn on Chrome dark mode on Windows
Go to Personalization in Settings to change interface and menu colors
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- Enter the Windows Settings menu.
- Click Personalization.
- Choose Colors.
- Scroll down to the switch marked Choose your color, or on Windows 11, Choose your mode.
- Change this to Dark to enable dark mode on all apps with native support, including Google Chrome.
This will only affect the browser’s interface and menus.
If you want to change the appearance of web content, in effect forcing light-colored web pages to show a dark background and white text, follow the next steps.
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How to force dark mode for all Chrome sites
Change the appearance of web content
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- Enter the following address in your URL bar: chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark.
- This will bring up a hidden Chrome settings menu and the Force Dark Mode option.
- Go to the drop-down menu next to Force Dark Mode and select Enabled.
- At the bottom, hit the Relaunch button to restart your browser.
In Step 3 above, you’ll see several options in the drop-down menu; they all work similarly, simply switching up the color combinations. You can test them all if you want. It just boils down to your personal preference.
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How to turn on Chrome dark mode on Macs
Go to Appearance in System Preference to choose Dark
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- Open System Preferences.
- Choose General.
- Then select Appearance.
- Click on the Dark option. Similar to Windows, all apps with a native dark mode will switch over.
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How to turn on Chrome dark mode on Android
Previously an experimental feature
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Dark mode on Android used to be enabled the same way as web content on the desktop. It was an experimental feature, but now official support has rolled:
- Open Chrome on your Android device.
- Tap More (three dots) at the top right, then go to Settings > Theme.
- You’ll find three options:
- System Default: Chrome will use the Dark theme when Battery Saver mode is activated or if your device is set to Dark theme in the system settings.
- You’ll also see the option to darken websites.
- Dark: Enables Chrome’s Dark theme.
- Light: Keeps Chrome in Light theme.
- System Default: Chrome will use the Dark theme when Battery Saver mode is activated or if your device is set to Dark theme in the system settings.
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How to turn on Chrome dark mode on iPhone
Go to Settings to choose Dark Mode
Since the launch of iOS 13, Apple has offered a dark mode option for the whole operating system on both iPhone and iPad. Selecting this option will automatically switch Chrome into dark mode, too.
- Go to your Settings, then to Display and enable Dark Mode.
- When you next open Chrome, it should reflect these changes.
Should you use dark mode in Chrome?
There are lots of good reasons to use dark mode, especially on a battery-powered device with an OLED screen, as displaying black pixels draws less power than displaying white. As we’ve mentioned, it’s much easier on the eyes in dimly lit situations. If you need to check something on your phone at night quickly, you can do so without waking up your partner or melting your eyeballs with a glowing white home screen.
There are downsides, however. Not so much with having the Chrome interface in dark mode, but if you use the forced dark mode option, it can often make websites look a bit strange — and in extreme cases, it may make them completely unreadable. Thankfully, disabling forced dark mode only takes a few seconds. You’ll quickly figure out whether you like it and can continue from there.
If you want to know more handy tips and tricks for Google Chrome, we have some great guides that can tell you everything you need to know. Maybe you’d like to customize your browser, you could try adding some awesome Chrome Extensions, or you could search the web with Google Lens right from your browser.
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