Your phone's bright white screen feels fine in daylight, but in a dark room it glares like a torch. Menus, messages and web pages all glow white, and turning the brightness down only makes the text harder to read. Dark Mode fixes the actual problem: it swaps the whole interface to dark backgrounds with light text, so the screen stays readable without lighting up the room.
The rest of this guide covers the quick toggle on each phone, how to schedule Dark Mode for the evening, what it does and does not change, and what to check when some apps stay bright.
Turn on Dark Mode on iPhone
Dark Mode has been built into iOS since iOS 13, so any reasonably recent iPhone has it. Apple's own guide lists two ways to turn it on.
- Open Settings and tap Display & Brightness.
- Under Appearance, tap Dark. The whole interface switches immediately — Settings, Messages, Mail and every app that supports Dark Mode.
The faster way is Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner (or swipe up from the bottom on an iPhone with a Home button), then touch and hold the brightness bar and tap Dark Mode. If the Dark Mode button is not there, open Control Center, touch and hold a blank space to edit it, tap Add a Control at the bottom and select Dark Mode.
Schedule it: in Settings > Display & Brightness, turn on Automatic, then tap Options and choose Sunset to Sunrise or Custom Schedule. Sunset to Sunrise uses your clock and location to work out when night falls where you are; Custom Schedule lets you set your own on and off times, such as 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
On iOS 18 and later you can also darken the Home Screen icons: long-press the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Customize, and choose Dark. That only changes the icons, not the rest of the system.
Apple documents the Settings and Control Center steps on its Use Dark Mode on your iPhone and iPad page, and the schedule options in its guide to screen brightness and colour.
Turn on Dark Mode on Android (Google Pixel)
Google calls the feature Dark theme, and the steps are nearly identical on Pixel and most stock Android phones. It needs Android 10 or later.
- Open Settings and tap Display & touch.
- Under Appearance, turn on Dark theme.
The quick way is the Quick Settings panel: swipe down twice from the top of the screen and tap the Dark theme tile. If the tile is missing, tap the pencil icon in Quick Settings and drag it into place.
Schedule it: go to Settings > Display & touch > Dark theme and tap Schedule. You get three choices: Turns on at custom time (set your own start and end times), Turns on from sunset to sunrise, or Turns on at bedtime (Android 13 and later, tied to Bedtime mode). To stop the schedule entirely, open Schedule again and tap None.
Google lists the full steps on its Change your screen colour at night on a Pixel phone help page.
Turn on Dark Mode on Samsung Galaxy
Samsung's version lives in the same place, with slightly different wording. It needs a Galaxy running Android 10 / One UI 2 or later.
- Open Settings and tap Display.
- At the top of the screen, tap Dark. Everything switches at once — menus, Settings and Samsung's own apps.
The quick way is the Quick Settings panel: swipe down from the top with two fingers and tap the Dark mode icon. It glows when the mode is on; tap it again to turn it off.
Schedule it: go to Settings > Display and tap Dark mode settings, then turn on Turn on as scheduled and choose Sunset to sunrise or Custom schedule. For a custom schedule, tap Set schedule, pick your start and end times, and tap Done. You can also reach the same screen by touching and holding the Dark mode icon in Quick Settings. A manual tap still works even while a schedule is set.
Samsung documents both routes in its Use dark mode on your Samsung Galaxy guide, with the schedule steps in Reduce eye strain on your Galaxy phone or tablet.
iPhone vs Pixel vs Samsung at a glance
| Phone | Where to turn it on | Schedule options | Fastest toggle |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark | Automatic: Sunset to Sunrise or Custom Schedule | Control Center, hold the brightness bar |
| Google Pixel | Settings > Display & touch > Dark theme | Custom time, Sunset to sunrise, or At bedtime | Quick Settings Dark theme tile |
| Samsung Galaxy | Settings > Display > Dark | Sunset to sunrise or Custom schedule | Quick Settings Dark mode tile |
What Dark Mode does — and what it does not
Dark Mode changes the colour scheme, not the light output, so it is worth knowing exactly what it touches:
- It darkens the system and supported apps. Menus, Settings, the keyboard, the lock screen and the status bar all switch to dark backgrounds with light text. Most major apps follow the system setting.
- It does not change your brightness. The screen can still be too bright in a dark room — that is the brightness slider's job, a separate setting. Our guide to turning off auto-brightness on iPhone and Android covers that side of it.
- It does not force every app dark. An app only goes dark if it supports the system theme or has its own dark setting. A few apps ignore the system entirely and keep their own light interface whatever you choose.
- It is not the same as Night Shift. Night Shift warms the screen's colours towards orange to cut blue light; Dark Mode changes the colour scheme to dark backgrounds. They are independent — you can use one, both, or neither.
- Battery: on a phone with an OLED screen, dark areas can use less power than bright white ones, which is why Google says Dark theme might extend battery life in apps that support it. Do not expect a dramatic difference, and on older LCD screens the saving is smaller because the backlight stays on either way.
Dark Mode in individual apps
Some apps let you choose their own theme regardless of the phone. WhatsApp is the one most people ask about: open WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Theme and choose Light, Dark or System default. System default means WhatsApp follows your phone — dark when the phone is dark, light when it is light — which is the setting that makes the schedule work inside WhatsApp too. On WhatsApp Web or the desktop app, click your profile picture, then Chats > Theme.
WhatsApp documents the three choices on its How to use dark mode page. If you also want to change what sits behind your chats, our guide to changing your WhatsApp chat wallpaper covers that separately — wallpaper and theme are two different settings.
If Dark Mode does not work
Dark Mode fails in a handful of predictable ways. Work through these before assuming the phone is broken:
- The Dark option is missing. The feature needs iOS 13 or later on iPhone, and Android 10 or later on Android. On an older phone, update the software first — there is no system Dark Mode to turn on below those versions.
- It switches back to Light every morning. A schedule is doing it. On iPhone, turn off Automatic in Settings > Display & Brightness and select Dark; on Pixel, open Dark theme > Schedule and tap None; on Samsung, turn off Turn on as scheduled.
- The sunset schedule never fires. Sunset to sunrise needs your location. Google states this plainly for Pixel, and Apple uses your clock and geolocation too. Turn location services back on, or switch to a custom schedule with fixed times instead.
- Your wallpaper looks darker than before. That is Dark Mode itself: iOS dims the wallpaper when Dark Mode is on. Our guide to stopping wallpaper dimming in dark mode shows how to turn that off without leaving Dark Mode.
- Only half the phone goes dark on Samsung. A downloaded theme or a high contrast font can block it — Samsung says so in its own guide. Switch back to the default theme and try again.
- One app stays bright. The app does not support the system theme. Check its own Appearance or Theme setting, update it, and if it still stays light, that app simply has no dark mode yet.
FAQ
Does Dark Mode save battery?
It can, a little. On a phone with an OLED screen, dark pixels draw less power than bright white ones, and Google says apps that work with Dark theme might extend battery life. There is no fixed percentage to quote, and the saving is smaller on older LCD screens because the backlight stays on. Treat it as a comfort feature first and a battery feature second.
Is Dark Mode the same as Night Shift?
No. Dark Mode changes the colour scheme to dark backgrounds with light text. Night Shift warms the screen's colours towards orange to reduce blue light in the evening. They solve different problems and work independently — you can use either one on its own or both together.
Can I schedule Dark Mode to turn on only at night?
Yes, on all three phones. iPhone offers Sunset to Sunrise or a Custom Schedule under Automatic; Pixel offers custom time, sunset to sunrise, or at bedtime; Samsung offers sunset to sunrise or a custom schedule. Pick sunset to sunrise if you never want to think about it again.
Why is my wallpaper darker after turning on Dark Mode?
iOS dims the wallpaper when Dark Mode is on, so the Home Screen and lock screen look darker than the photo you picked. It is a deliberate effect, not a fault, and you can switch it off — see our guide to stopping wallpaper dimming in dark mode.
Will Dark Mode make all my apps dark?
No — only apps that support the system theme. Most major apps do, but some keep their own light interface, and a few have their own theme setting you need to change inside the app. WhatsApp, for example, follows the phone only when its Theme is set to System default.
How do I turn Dark Mode off?
Reverse the same steps: on iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and tap Light (and turn off Automatic so a schedule does not turn it back on); on Pixel, turn off Dark theme in Settings > Display & touch; on Samsung, tap Light in Settings > Display.