How to Turn On Dark Mode on iPhone: System, Apps, Safari, and Chrome (2026)

iPhone has had system dark mode since iOS 13, but in 2026 the situation is more complicated. System dark mode covers Apple apps. Safari has its own logic for dark websites. Third-party apps each handle dark mode differently. And Google services on iPhone Safari often stay stubbornly white. This guide covers every layer, in the order most users want them.

The Short Answer

Turn on system dark mode in Settings, Display and Brightness, Dark. That covers Apple apps and any third-party app that respects the system setting. For websites in Safari, you need either the site's own dark mode toggle or a content blocker that forces dark mode. For Google services that ignore your setting, a dark mode extension on iPhone Chrome is the most reliable path.

Turn On Dark Mode on iPhone (System-Wide)

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Display and Brightness.
3. Under Appearance, tap Dark.
4. Optional: tap Automatic to switch between light at sunrise and dark at sunset.

This is the master setting. It changes the system UI, the Lock Screen, the Home Screen, and most Apple apps. Third-party apps with proper iOS support also follow this setting.

If the system already looks dark and you want to switch back, the same path works in reverse. For users stuck in dark mode who cannot find this setting, see our turn off dark mode on iPhone guide.

Turn On Dark Mode for All Apps on iPhone

With system dark mode on, most apps follow automatically. Apps that do not are usually built older or have a per-app theme setting that overrides the system.

For apps with their own theme setting:
1. Open the app.
2. Look for Settings, Profile, or the gear icon.
3. Find Theme, Appearance, or Display.
4. Choose Dark or System.

Major apps with per-app theme controls include Gmail, Slack, Spotify, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter/X, Discord, Notion, and Microsoft Office apps. Most default to System but can be locked to Dark independently.

Turn On Dark Mode for Certain Apps Only on iPhone

iOS does not support per-app system theme overrides directly. Apps that have their own theme setting can be set to Dark while the system is Light, or vice versa, but you cannot force Apple Mail to be dark while Apple Notes is light through a system control.

The practical workaround:
1. Set the system to your preferred default (Light or Dark).
2. For apps where you want the opposite, open the app, find its theme setting, and set it independently.

This works for Gmail, Slack, YouTube, Reddit, and most major third-party apps.

Dark Mode in Safari on iPhone

Safari does two different things in dark mode. First, the Safari interface (URL bar, tabs, menus) follows the system dark setting. Second, websites that publish a prefers-color-scheme: dark stylesheet automatically render dark when system dark mode is on.

Websites without a dark stylesheet stay white. To force dark mode on those:

1. Install a Safari content blocker that supports custom CSS or has a built-in force-dark feature. AdGuard for Safari, Wipr, and 1Blocker all support some version of this.
2. Open Settings, Safari, Extensions.
3. Enable the content blocker.
4. Open the website. Most pages should now render dark.

This works on most static content sites. It struggles on web apps with complex layouts, like Google Sheets or Notion (see our Google Sheets dark mode guide for that case). For a Safari-specific deep dive across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, see our Safari dark mode guide.

Dark Mode in Chrome on iPhone

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Open in Chrome Web Store

Chrome on iPhone has its own dark mode toggle independent of the system, plus support for forcing dark on websites.

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the bottom right.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Theme.
5. Pick Dark.

For forcing dark mode on websites that stay white, Chrome iOS has a flag. Type chrome://flags in the address bar, search for Force Dark Mode, set to Enabled, and tap Relaunch. Note that this can break images and color-coded content. The cleaner option is a dark mode extension if your version of Chrome iOS supports them, or switching to Safari with a content blocker.

Dark Mode for Google Apps on iPhone

Google apps on iPhone (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Maps) each have their own dark mode setting. They do not all follow the system setting reliably.

Gmail iPhone:
1. Open Gmail.
2. Tap the menu icon.
3. Settings, then Theme.
4. Pick Dark.

Google Drive iPhone: open the app, tap Settings, then Theme, pick Dark.

Google Docs and Sheets iPhone apps have their own theme controls in the same Settings menu inside each app.

For Google services in iPhone Safari (rather than the apps), see the Safari section above.

Dark Mode on iPhone 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

The steps above work the same on every iPhone running iOS 13 or later. The path through Settings, Display and Brightness has not changed. iPhone 17 in 2026 adds an Auto Dark schedule based on your activity patterns, but the basic toggle is in the same place.

iPhone 12 and earlier on iOS 13-15 also support dark mode through the same Settings path. The visual polish on the lock screen and widgets has improved with each iOS version, but the toggle location is identical.

Dark Mode for iPhone Messages and SMS

Messages on iPhone follows the system dark setting. There is no separate per-app toggle. To make Messages dark while keeping the rest of the system light, you would need to switch the system itself to dark.

For users who want a custom Messages background, iOS 18 introduced custom Messages wallpapers. Open Messages, tap a conversation, tap the contact name at the top, then Backgrounds, and pick a wallpaper. This is separate from dark mode.

For those who searched how to make messages dark blue, the iMessage bubble color is fixed by Apple and cannot be customized. The closest you can get is using a dark theme third-party messaging app.

Night Mode on iPhone vs Dark Mode

Night Shift and dark mode are different features. Dark mode changes the color scheme of the UI from white to black. Night Shift shifts the screen toward warmer (yellower) colors after sunset to reduce blue light.

To enable Night Shift:
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Display and Brightness.
3. Tap Night Shift.
4. Toggle Scheduled or Manually Enable Until Tomorrow.
5. Adjust the warmth slider to taste.

Most iPhone users want both: dark mode all day, plus Night Shift after sunset. They are independent and complementary.

Key Takeaways

iPhone dark mode is layered. System Dark Mode covers Apple apps. Per-app theme settings override or supplement the system for major third-party apps. Safari needs a content blocker for websites without native dark support. Chrome iPhone has its own toggle. Google apps each have separate theme controls. Once you have all four layers set the way you want, your iPhone stays dark consistently across the apps and sites you use most. For Mac, iPad, and other Apple devices, the same logic applies with platform-specific menu paths. iPhone users also dealing with Google AI Overviews and Gemini should see our Google AI on iPhone guide. For Android users wanting the equivalent setup, see our Android dark mode guide.