How to Turn Mac Dark Mode On or Off

The striking new design of "Dark Mode" is easy on the eyes and improves concentration. System-wide and compatible with the built-in Mac apps, Dark Mode uses a dark color palette. Also, it can be adopted by third-party apps.

Dark Mode is easier on your eyes, helping many users deal with eyestrain. Apple introduced Dark Mode with macOS Mojave. While Dark Mode isn't automatically enabled, it's easy to turn on and off. Here's how to make Mac dark mode and how to switch back to Light mode easily. When you turn on the Dark mode, all of your Apple apps will have darker colors and themes.

How to make Mac Dark Mode

1. Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.

2. Click General on the System Preferences screen.

3. Next to Appearance, select Dark to turn on Dark Mode. 

When enabled, Dark Mode is applied to menus, buttons, and windows, including the System Preferences window, immediately.

How to turn off Dark Mode on Mac

1. Choose Apple menu.

2. Select System Preferences.

3. Click General.

4. Select one of the Appearance options:

Light: to use the light appearance.

Auto: to automatically use the light appearance during the day and the Dark appearance at night.

Using Dark Mode on Mac

Dark Mode is supported by all of the Apple-provided apps, including Photos, Mail, Maps, and Calendar. There is another step you can take, though, if you were hoping for your Mac to become completely dark: dim the desktop display. If you want a dark image on your desktop, it's better to use one of the dynamic desktop graphics or the dark static images that come with macOS Mojave and later.

How Dark Mode works with some apps and features

Specific Dark Mode settings or behaviors are available in some programs and features.

Mail

Open Mail, select Mail > Preferences, click the Viewing tab, and deselect Use dark backgrounds for messages to use a light background for email messages while Dark Mode is enabled.

Maps

Open Maps, go to Maps > select Preferences, and select Always use light map appearance to always display maps with a light background when Dark Mode is enabled. In older versions of macOS, you could uncheck Use Dark Map by clicking View in the Maps menu bar.

Notes

Open Notes, click Notes > Preferences, then uncheck Use dark backgrounds for note content to use a light background for your notes while Dark Mode is enabled.

Safari

If a website has been created to support it, Safari will display it in Dark Mode when you use it. Use Safari Reader to read articles in Dark Mode if the website doesn't support it.

TextEdit

When TextEdit's Dark Mode is active, select View from the menu bar, then deselect Use Dark Background for Windows to use a light background for documents. 10.14.2 or later versions of macOS Mojave are required.

Desktop Dynamic

When using Dynamic Desktop, the desktop may switch to a dark still image if Dark Mode is enabled. This setting can be modified in the Desktop & Screen Saver preferences.

So that's how to make Mac dark mode and how to turn off the Dark mode easily. If you have any trouble enabling dark mode on Mac, simply leave a comment below and we will help you solve it.