Achy eyes after too much screen time is a quintessentially 21st-century problem. Now the smartphone has been with us for over a decade, handset and app manufacturers have finally given us dark mode, which switches your white screen space for shades of grey and black. PCmag has an article from Jason Cohen, sharing how to set up dark modes in some of your favourite apps.
It’s quite eye-opening to see the stats on how long we spend looking at screens. In 2018, the average American adult had 3 hours and 35 minutes of screen time, and this year eMarketer predicts mobile time will surpass TV time for the first time.
Having so much light hitting your eyes isn’t great. Light at the blue end of the spectrum messes with your sleep patterns because your brain still thinks it’s in daylight. A utopia without mobile devices isn’t going to happen any time soon, so the next best option is to set up dark modes on your apps, turning your whites to greys and blacks instead.
The dark mode isn’t yet a standard option in all apps, there are some that have night themes that will only work when certain parameters are hit. Navigating at night with Google Maps will kick in the night theme but you can’t set it to work over the whole app. Firefox, Gmail, and Windows 10 Mail apps do have custom web themes available, but they’re hit and miss when it comes to their mobile apps.
There are OS level dark modes available; iOS 13 on your iPhone and the latest Android 10 update both will make your whole phone go dark. It’s only going to work over apps that support the change though, such as built-in Apple apps and most apps developed by Google, and third-party apps that already have dark mode such as Instagram.
We’ve put together a list of apps that have their own dark mode and a quick guide for how to get it turned on and give your eyes a break.
Amazon Kindle App
Navigate to More > Settings > Color Theme to change your setting in the Amazon Kindle app. When you select “dark” it will change the main app, but it won’t change how your actual ebooks look. To change the reader mode, tap the Aa icon on each ebook then you select Color > Black from the drop-down options.
Edge
If you use the Edge browser from Microsoft, there are different options depending on if you’re an iOS or Android user. For iOS, go to the three-dot menu, tap Settings and under the Theme menu you select Dark, as pictured. Alternatively, on Android, go to the three dots in the bottom right, then go for Settings > Appearance > Theme > Dark.
Evernote
The Evernote app is really simple to make the switch to dark mode. Go to the three button menu in the top left and you’ll see the option to toggle Dark Theme, when using Android. For iOS devices, go to My Account at the bottom-right corner and there you’ll get the option to toggle Dark Theme too.
Facebook Messenger
First launched as an Android Easter egg, Facebook Messenger’s dark mode got rolled out as a permanent feature for both iOS and Android recently. Whichever system you use, tap on the chat head in the top left of your screen and you’ll see a switch for Dark Mode that you can toggle on and off.
Firefox (iOS Only)
Firefox users on iPhones and iPads have a nice, simple process to follow to get dark mode working. Go to the three dots by the address bar and activate Enable Night Mode. This will then turn your menus and web pages a dark grey hue. Android Firefox users don’t get a full dark mode as yet, but you can still get the look through add-ons. Go to the menu button at the top right and either select Add-Ons or Tools > Add-Ons, and search for a dark mode extension.
Gboard
Gboard, the keyboard app from Google lets you change the theme of the keys that you type with. There are a few themes that are dark for you to choose from, you get to them by going to the gear icon you find on your keyboard. Choose Theme and there are different color schemes to choose from. There are quite a few darker ones but only two that offer complete blackout.
Gmail (Android 10)
There’s a long history of Gmail supporting web-based themes, with options to change menus or your inbox whilst the actual email display remained white. On Android 10 you can go dark with the system-wide dark mode, or control it yourself. Go to the hamburger menu in the Gmail app and go for Settings > General Settings > Themes > Dark and you’ll change just the Gmail app rather than the whole phone to darker shades.
Google News
To get your Google News set to dark mode you need to select your user profile then go to the Settings option. The Dark Theme will be in this menu and you can choose at which point the new theme will set in. It’s going to change the interface of Google News, but just be aware that the articles you read will still be in their default color scheme.
Marvel Unlimited
Your Marvel Unlimited app also comes with a dark mode, which you can access through the three dot menu option. In here, select Settings and you get three color schemes to choose from; white, black, or Iron Man red. Once chosen, the color will change and be consistent through your whole Marvel experience.
Opera
The three different Opera apps each have their own dark mode process to follow. For the standard Opera app, you need to go to the O icon that’s in the bottom right and then do Settings > Appearance > Theme > Dark. Users of Opera Mini have a few different color options to choose from. To see which one you want, go to the O icon, and then Settings > Theme where you’re presented with the color palette of options, with black included. Opera Touch users get an easy ride with their dark mode change over. Head to the three dot menu in the top right of the browser window then go to Settings. There’s a simple button that lets you toggle Dark theme on and off.
Outlook
Dark mode has finally landed on Microsoft’s Outlook app. Android users need to go to the hamburger menu and go to Settings, then go to Theme and there are options to go light or dark or change it depending on your battery situation. If you’re on iOS, go to the top-left menu, choose the gear icon at the bottom left and then turn on the Dark Mode option.
Pinterest
For anyone using Android 9.0 or higher, Pinterest automatically uses whatever your Battery Saver theme is set at. If you want to have permanent dark mode in this app, head to your user profile and find Settings, which is in the top-right corner. Next, go for Edit Settings > Set by battery saver > Dark. For those using iOS, you need to turn on the system-wide dark mode to have Pinterest in perpetual darkness.
Pocket
Saving articles throughout the day with Pocket, invariably means you’ll be returning to them at night, so a dark mode is a really handy addition to the app. To get it switched on for Android handsets, navigate to your profile, then tap the three dots on the top-right and go to Settings. Here, you’ll get an option to Change Theme and there’ll be a pop-up menu where you can pick Dark. For iOS, head to your profile, go to the gears at the top-right and go to Theme, at which point you’ll get a pop-up menu offering you a Dark option.
Pulse SMS
With plenty of customization options already in Pulse SMS, it’s good to see a few dark theme options. Navigate to the three dot menu and select Customization settings. Choose Theme and there are lots of colors to take your pick of, including light, dark, black and day/night. There are hex color codes that can also personalize other app details.
Reddit App
Reddit has two options for turning on the dark mode in their app. There’s the easy way, which is to go to your user profile, which is in the top left corner, and select the moon icon in the pull out menu at the bottom. When you do this the theme changes to black. If you’d rather choose a specific color theme, Reddit has you covered. Go to Settings > Themes and there will be options to choose from such as Alien Blue, Mint, Night, Pony, and Trees, with Night being the dark mode we’re looking for. You can tinker with other theme settings to get the best out of your dark mode experience. There’s Auto Night Mode that monitors the time of day and changes the theme accordingly, and an AMOLED Night Mode that gets rid of all the accent colors. You can even switch to dark mode on Reddit’s web version by heading to your username and switching on Night Mode.
Slack
No matter what time of day you need to be collaborating, Slack has you covered with their new dark mode. Go into your options menu that you’ll find in the top-right when you’re in a chat, then tap Settings, and scroll to find Dark Mode. From here you toggle it on if you’re on iOS or hit enable if you’re an Android user. After you do that, here are some more tips for keeping your Slack feed organized.
Twitter
Settings and then Privacy will take you to the dark mode setting on Twitter, and you then need to go to Display and sound > display and sound > Dark mode. If you use iOS you toggle on and off, and if you’re on Android you can select on, off, or automatic. The standard dark mode comes out at dark blue, and if that’s quite dark enough, iPhone and iPad get a handy Lights Out option to make it all black. Sadly, Android users still only have the dark blue option, at the moment.
WhatsApp
It might be one of the most popular messaging apps, but WhatsApp still hasn’t come out with an official dark mode setting. You can, however, change the wallpaper in every chat window so you can basically create your own dark theme. It’s a bit of effort; you’ll have to make the change in every chat window, but it can be done. Go to the settings window and select Wallpaper and you get a few different options to choose from. The easiest way to do your own dark mode is to choose Solid Color and pick black from the color palette and then choose Set to finalize your selection.
YouTube
The eye strain is real when you spend hours glued to YouTube videos; because we all like to binge sometimes. From an Android device, choose your profile pic at the top and go to Settings > General > Dark and you can toggle the mode on. For iOS, again go to the profile pic at the top, then it’s just Settings > Dark theme to toggle it on. You can even make the change when you use the YouTube website; click on your profile pic and you’ll find the Dark Theme option there.
Anna Dovbysh
With 7 years of writing experience and a deep interest in tech, innovations, and all things trending, Anna’s here to shine a light on the most interesting tech stories. Need to know which gadget to choose for your sports activities? Wondering how technology can improve your lifestyle? Want to know what to expect from Apple this year? She’s got all the answers. Subscribe to her posts and share your opinion on the matter!