The internet never sleeps, meaning you can stare at a brightly lit display at all hours of the day, potentially messing with your sleep and putting strain on your eyes. Turn down the lights by enabling dark mode in your browser.
Many popular mobile apps offer darker color schemes, but on the web, the color theme of each website is set by the site's developer. Still, you can make the browsing experience easier on the eyes by changing the color of menu pages or playing with certain experimental features. Here's how to do it in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
Safari On Mobile
Safari also uses the default system theme on mobile, so you can set dark mode on iPhone and iPad to darken your browser's color. Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark and toggle that option to on.
You can also set individual pages to dark mode 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; if Reader View is supported, a three-line icon will appear to the left of the address bar. Tap it to enter Reader View; if the page doesn't go dark, tap the aA symbol and select the darkest shade.
Microsoft 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 change it manually by opening the three-dot menu and going to Settings > Appearance, and then choosing a theme from the Default Theme drop-down menu.
Firefox On Mobile
By default, the Firefox mobile app follows the default system theme, but you can also change it up as you see fit. Enabling dark mode in Firefox on iPhone and iPad is simple because all you need to do is open the hamburger menu and tap Enable Night Mode. Android devices do not have this option available.
Night Mode simply inverts the colors on the screen, so if you want a real dark theme, you need to go into Settings. On iOS, open Settings > Theme and turn off the system theme in order to choose a manually. For Android devices, open the three-dot menu and select Settings > Customize to choose the browser theme.
Safari On Desktop
Safari does not offer its own dark mode, though it does support the greater macOS dark theme. On your Mac, navigate to System Preferences > General > Dark to darken the operating system. This will turn Safari's menus black, but web pages won't change unless the website supports dark mode
Firefox On Desktop
By default, Firefox will follow the lead of the operating system color scheme, but you can enable a dark theme, too. On the desktop version of Firefox, open Settings > Customize, then open the Themes menu at the bottom of the screen and make your selection. You can even choose Get More Themes to install addition custom color themes.
Chrome On Desktop
Chrome doesn't offer an official dark mode on desktop (though it might arrive soon), but it does honor your system settings in Windows and macOS. Just go to Settings > Personalization > Colors on a PC, or System Preferences > General > Appearance on a Mac to change the computer's default theme. Chrome will then change its colors to match what you prefer.
If you're looking to change Chrome directly, you can turn to the Chrome Web Store and look under Themes to find and install the color theme you want. Color themes can always be removed under Settings > Appearance, then click Reset to default.
Chrome On Mobile
Chrome's Android app has an official dark mode that you can enable in just a few steps. Make sure you have the most updated version of Chrome for Android and then tap the three-dot menu and select Settings > Themes. You can then select Dark or System default, if dark mode is enabled at the system level. If you're on an iPhone or iPad, you will have to rely on the system theme you have set in iOS 14.
Microsoft Edge On Mobile
On iOS, open the three-dot menu and select Settings, then choose Dark under Theme. For Android, tap the three-dot menu at the bottom of the browser and select Settings > Appearance > Theme and pick Dark.