Blackout: How to Enable Dark Mode on Your Browser

The internet never sleeps, meaning you can stare at a brightly lit display at all hours of the day, potentially messing with your own sleep and putting strain on your eyes. Turn down the lights by enabling dark mode in your web browser.

How you enable such a feature depends on which browser you use and the device’s operating system. Dark mode won’t change the color of the pages you visit—that is set by the site’s developer—but it will make the toolbar and settings pages of the browser much easier to look at, especially if you’re sitting in a dark room. Here’s how to enable dark mode in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Enable OS Dark Mode

At this point in the game, most major browsers will follow the lead of your operating system. If you want your browser to use dark mode, setting it up OS-wide should take care of everything. Here’s how to do that on all your devices:

• Windows 10: Open Settings > Personalization > Colors and choose the Dark theme from the drop-down menu.

• Windows 11: Open Settings > System > Personalization, then pick a pre-existing theme or change the system colors.

• macOS: Head to System Preferences > General and select Dark (or Auto if you want the theme to change based on time of day).

• iOS: Go to Settings > Display & Brightness, then tap the Dark theme (or enable Auto to schedule when the feature should be used). You can also open Control Center and long-press on the brightness shader, then select the Dark Mode icon.

• Android: This will depend on your phone’s manufacturer, but you should be able to open your device’s Display settings and enable a dark theme. Settings options should allow you to schedule the feature. Check the pull-down Quick Settings screen for a Dark Mode option.

Otherwise, you can change the theme of your browser in the individual programs by following the directions below.

Set Dark Mode in Chrome

Chrome doesn’t offer an official dark mode in the desktop app, but you can turn to the Chrome Web Store(Opens in a new window). Look under Themes to find and install the color theme you want. Google has collected different variations of dark themes in the Dark & Black Themes section.

Find a theme you like and click Add to Chrome to apply the theme to your browser. Choosing any new theme will replace your current browser colors. If you ever want to remove a theme and go back to the default, head to Settings > Appearance and click Reset to default.

Chrome on Android

Chrome’s Android app has an official dark mode that you can enable in just a few steps. Open the app and tap the three-dot menu, then select Settings > Theme. You can then choose Dark or System default, if dark mode is enabled at the system level. iPhone or iPad users will have to set a default system theme.

Set Dark Mode in Firefox

Firefox on desktop

Firefox allows you to add themes if you open the browser’s hamburger menu and select Settings > Extensions & Themes. Click Themes to open the Manage Your Themes page, then select the theme you wish to use, such as Dark. You can find additional themes if you click Find more themes at the very bottom of the page.

You can also create your own custom theme if you click Build your own theme with Firefox Color and install the add-on. Firefox lets you select specific colors for the toolbar, background, pop-up text, and other elements.

Firefox also has options that are supposed to tell supported web pages to change the color scheme based on your settings. Under Settings > General set Website Appearance to Dark and see which websites will use a dark theme alongside your browser. You can also click Manage Colors and try changing the background color.

Firefox on Android

You can set the theme in the Firefox Android app by opening the three-dot menu and going to Settings > Customize. Under Theme, select Dark or Follow device theme. For iPhone or iPad, select the hamburger menu in the app and tap Turn on Night Mode.

Set Dark Mode in Safari

Safari on macOS

Safari—whether on desktop or mobile—does not offer its own dark mode, so you’ll have to rely on the default system theme in macOS, iOS, and iPadOS if you want to turn the browser black.

Safari on iPad

A solution for individual pages exists through Safari’s Reader View feature, which offers a stripped-down version of an article. To use this feature, open a page you wish to read, then select the aA symbol in the address bar and pick the darkest shade in the drop-down menu.

Set Dark Mode in Edge

Edge on desktop

Microsoft’s Edge is based on Google’s Chromium browser, but unlike Chrome, it actually has a built-in dark mode. It uses the system theme by default, but you can also change it manually. Open the three-dot menu and going to Settings > Appearance and choose Dark under Overall appearance. Pick a color theme to further customize the browser’s top menu bar.

Edge on Android

On an Android device, tap the three-dot menu at the bottom of the browser and select Settings > Appearance and choose Dark or Device (Default). For an iPhone or iPad, tap the same three-dot menu and open Settings, then scroll down to the Theme section, and select Device or Dark to change the theme.

Set Dark Mode in Opera

Opera has several different browsers on offer, including the standard Opera browser, the gaming-focused Opera GX, and the mobile-first Opera mini. Each handles the switch to dark mode just slightly differently.

For the standard Opera browser, open the Easy Setup hamburger menu in the top right corner and select Dark or System to change colors. You can also enable Force dark theme on pages to use an experimental tool that turns web pages dark.

On the mobile app, tap the account icon in the bottom right corner and select the gear icon. Choose Appearance, then select either Dark or Follow system to choose the theme. You can pick a color theme and enable Dark web pages to force dark mode on all websites.

Opera GX should have dark mode enabled by default. However, you can click the Easy Setup hamburger menu in top right corner, then select Dark or Auto. Click the Configuration link to set custom theme colors.

On the mobile app, click on the O icon at the bottom of the screen and choose Settings. Make sure the browser is set to Auto or Dark. You can then tap Dark web pages and set this to Auto or Always dark to change websites to match the dark theme.

In the Opera mini app, tap the O icon on the bottom of the screen and select the gear icon. Tap Personalization and choose Dark or Auto.

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