Dark mode swaps white backgrounds with grays and blacks. Here's how to enable dark mode on all your favorite apps. We spend a good part of our day watching screens. Spanish adults watch the displays of their mobile devices for an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes a day in 2018, this statistic tells us that the time spent on mobile will surpass TV in 2022.
All that bright light flowing into your eyes isn't benign. Blue light can interrupt sleep, confusing your brain about what time of day it is. Giving up mobile devices for most people isn't talking about it at all, so many of us opt for a dark mode, which swaps white backgrounds for grays and blacks.
Read also: Are you getting little sleep? Blue light (from smartphones and PCs) makes you sleep badly
Not all apps offer an official dark mode; some only have night themes that only work under certain conditions. Google Maps, for example, has a night theme when browsing, but it doesn't work across the entire app. Meanwhile, Firefox, Gmail, and the Windows 10 Mail app allow for custom themes on the web, but the mobile apps aren't consistent.
If you have upgraded to iOS 13 or your phone has received the upgrade to Android 10, both mobile operating systems support system-wide dark modes. But it will only apply to supported apps, such as built-in Apple apps, most Google apps, or third-party apps that support dark theme, like Instagram.
Read also: How to protect yourself from the blue light emitted by mobile phones?
The apps below support their own dark modes; here's how to enable.
AccuWeather
To turn on dark mode in AccuWeather, tap the three-dot menu and select Settings> Theme. Here, you choose between light, dark and automatic, which will change according to the time of day.
App Amazon Kindle
Amazon's Kindle app lets you turn on dark mode by browsing More> Settings> Color theme. Tap dark, which will darken the main app. This, however, does not change the contents of your e-books. To do this, tap the Aa icon at the top of each book, tap Color and select Black from the drop-down menu.
Castbox
Dim the lights on your favorite podcasts with dark mode on Castbox. Touch Personal> Settings, then turn on Dark Theme.
Edge
Darken the Microsoft Edge browser, available on the web and on your mobile device. In the Android app, tap the three-dot menu () in the bottom right corner and select Settings> Appearance> Theme> Dark. On iOS, just tap the three-dot menu, select Settings, and tap Dark under Theme.
Read also: How to activate dark mode on Android: all available options
Evernote
Evernote makes it easy to deactivate the note-taking app. On Android, tap the () in the top left corner and turn on the Dark Theme switch. On iOS, tap the My Account option in the bottom right corner and turn on Dark Theme.
Facebook Messenger
Dark Mode for Facebook Messenger was initially launched as an Easter egg for Android phones, but was recently rolled out as a permanent feature on iOS and Android. On both operating systems, simply tap the chat head icon in the top left and toggle the Dark Mode option on or off.
Files by Google
Google's file manager app on Android has a dark mode that you can activate by opening the hamburger () in the top left corner and tapping on Settings. Toggle the dark theme switch.
Read also: How to activate dark mode on Google Chrome
Firefox (solo iOS)
Enabling dark mode on iPhones and iPads is simple. Tap the browser () and turn on the Enable Night Mode option, which will give menus and web pages a dark theme. The Android app for Firefox doesn't have a completely dark mode yet, but it does support add-ons. Tap the menu button at the top right and select Add-ons or Tools> Add-ons, depending on your Android version, and look for a dark mode extension.
Gboard
The Google Gboard keyboard app allows you to customize the keys you type with certain themes. There are several dark themes to choose from, which you can find by tapping the gear icon on your keyboard. Select Theme and then choose the color scheme you prefer. While there are some darker ones, there are only two with a true black pattern.
Gmail (Android 10)
Gmail has long supported themes on the web; they change menu and mailbox while e-mails remain blank. With Android 10, however, you can turn on system-wide dark mode and Gmail will obey. Or set it manually within the app by going to the hamburger menu () in Gmail and selecting Settings> General Settings> Theme> Dark to set the app to dark mode.
Read also: Google is releasing dark mode on Android 10
Google calculator
Do you need to do some math without straining your eyes? Open the three-dot menu () on the Google Calculator app and select Choose Theme. Then tap on the default light mode, dark mode or choose to enable it when you need to save battery.
Google Calendar
Click on () in the upper left corner and select Settings> General> Theme. Choose between a light or dark theme or change it based on your Battery Saver settings.
Google contacts
The Google Contacts app can go dark if you open the hamburger () and select Settings. Tap Choose theme, then select the default light mode, dark mode, or configure it based on your device's battery status.
Google Drive
Turn on dark mode in the Android version of Google Drive by opening the hamburger () and selecting Settings. Tap Choose theme, then select the default light mode, dark mode, or configure it based on your device's battery status.
Google Keep
Google's note-taking app now has its own dark mode. Activate it by opening the () and selecting Settings. So just flip the switch to Enable dark theme and enjoy the new color scheme.
Google News
The Google News app can be set to dark mode by tapping on your user profile and going to Settings. From there, select Dark Theme and determine under what conditions you want the color change to occur. While the Google News interface will be changed, the articles you click in will remain in their default coloring.
Messages
Messaging makes it easy to switch to dark mode. Just tap on the three-dot menu and select Enable Dark Mode from the drop-down menu.
Outlook
Microsoft has finally added dark mode to the Outlook app. On Android, tap the hamburger () and select Settings. Tap Theme and choose from Light, Dark or Set to Battery Saver. On iOS, tap the menu on the top left, select the gear icon () on the bottom left, and turn on the Dark Mode option.
Opera
Opera has three different apps to choose from and each includes a dark mode. In the app Opera standard, tap the O icon at the bottom right and select Settings> Appearance> Theme> Dark.
The light version Opera Mini gives you even more options. Touch theicon O> Settings> Theme and choose from different color themes, including black.
Opera Touch it's much simpler. Open the three-dot menu at the top right of your browser, then select Settings. Turn Dark Theme on or off.
Periscope
Periscope lets you watch live video with a night theme change. To enable it, tap the people icon at the top of the screen and select the profile icon in the right corner. Scroll down and tap Settings, then turn Night Mode on or off.
On Android 9.0+, Pinterest will default to the Battery Saver theme. But for dark mode always, go to your user profile and select the Settings icon in the top right corner. Touch Change settings> Battery saving settings> Dark. On iOS, you will need the system-wide dark mode offered by iOS 13.
Shazam
On Android, Shazam will follow the default Battery Saver theme. For always dark mode, go to your Library and tap the gear icon in the top left corner. Choose Themes> Dark Theme.
To enable dark mode on Twitter, tap your profile icon and select Settings and Privacy. Touch Display and sound> Display and sound> Dark mode and turn it on (iOS) or select if you want it to be on, off or set to automatic (Android). If this dark blue theme isn't dark enough for you, iPhone and iPad users also have a Lights Out option that totally darkens the application. Android users will have to settle for now.
Waze
To dim Waze, tap the magnifying glass, then press the gear icon to open the Settings menu. Tap Map View, then choose Night to give everything a dark theme or Auto so that the colors change between night and day.
WhatsApp doesn't have an official dark mode like the other apps, but since it allows you to customize the wallpaper for each window, you can create your own dark theme. Open the settings window and tap the wallpaper. There will be several options to choose from, but the easiest way is to select Solid Colors, choose black from the color pallet options and tap Set to finalize.
YouTube
Pay attention to your eyes while watching video after video on YouTube. On Android, tap your profile photo at the top and select Settings> General> Dark Theme and turn it on. On iOS, tap your profile photo at the top and select Settings> Dark Theme and turn it on. A dark theme is also available on the web. Click on your profile picture and select the Dark Theme option.
Read also: How to turn off dark mode in iOS 13 and iPadOS
Further Reading:
- How to get Instagram dark mode
- How to use Google Photos in dark mode on iPhone and iPad
- How to enable dark mode on Firefox
- How to use Google Docs in dark mode
- From today you can activate the dark mode of Facebook Messenger
