How to Enable Dark Mode in Gmail (Web, Android, iPhone)

How do you enable dark mode in Gmail?#

Yes, Gmail has a dark mode. It darkens the inbox, sidebar and compose window; it does not rewrite your emails. You switch it on in a different place on each device, and the settings do not sync, so a dark laptop does not make your phone dark.

How do you turn on dark mode in Gmail on the web?#

On a computer, dark mode is one of the themes in Gmail's theme picker, sitting next to the photo backgrounds. If you were searching for how to make Gmail black, this is the setting: the Dark tile is the black theme.

1. 1

   Open Gmail in your browser

   Go to mail.google.com and sign in to the account you want to change.

2. 2

   Click the gear icon

   It is in the top-right corner of the inbox. This opens the Quick settings panel.

3. 3

   Open the theme picker

   Under Theme, click "View all." You can also click "See all settings" and open the Themes tab; both lead to the same grid.

4. 4

   Choose the Dark tile

   It is a solid dark square among the plain colors. The inbox previews the change right away.

5. 5

   Click Save

   Saving applies the theme. If it does not appear on another computer or browser later, repeat the steps there.

Dark is one of the themes in the same grid as the photo and color backgrounds, so choosing it replaces any background you set before. To get that background back, open the picker again and pick it. Picking the plain Light tile returns the standard white look.

Gmail on the web has no built-in night schedule that I could confirm in Google's help pages. If you want the web inbox dark only in the evening, you would change the theme by hand.

How do you enable dark mode in the Gmail app on Android?#

Dark theme in the Gmail app needs Android 10 or later. The setting is app-wide, so it covers every account you have added.

1. 1

   Open the Gmail menu

   Tap the three-line menu icon in the top-left corner of the Gmail app.

2. 2

   Go to Settings, then General settings

   Scroll to the bottom of the menu, tap "Settings," then "General settings."

3. 3

   Tap Theme

   You will see Light, Dark and System default.

4. 4

   Pick Dark or System default

   Dark keeps Gmail dark all the time. System default follows your phone, so Gmail goes dark whenever the phone does.

There is no Save button on Android; the change applies as soon as you tap. If the Theme option is missing, update the Gmail app first. For white emails that refuse to go dark and other Android problems, see Gmail dark theme on Android: fix white emails.

How do you get dark mode in Gmail on iPhone and iPad?#

Google's help says Gmail on iPhone and iPad follows your device's Dark Mode (iOS 13 and later). So the switch lives in iOS, not in Gmail, and it changes every app that follows the system.

1. 1

   Open the iOS Settings app

   This is the phone's Settings, not Gmail's.

2. 2

   Tap Display & Brightness

   Under Appearance, choose "Dark." The label can differ slightly between iOS versions.

3. 3

   Open Gmail

   The app now matches the system. Some versions of the app also show a Theme entry under Settings; if yours does, set it to System default, or to Dark to keep Gmail dark on its own.

Which setting wins when Gmail and your phone disagree?#

On Android, Gmail's own Theme choice decides. System default hands the decision to the phone, but Light or Dark overrides it for Gmail only. That is why a phone in dark mode can still show a white Gmail: the app is set to Light.

The reverse works too. To keep Gmail dark while the rest of the phone stays light, set Gmail's Theme to Dark. To make Gmail follow every change you make to the phone, set it to System default and leave it there.

On iPhone the system setting is the control. Changing Appearance in Display & Brightness changes Gmail along with every other app that follows it, so you cannot make Gmail dark alone unless your version of the app shows its own Theme entry.

Can Gmail switch to dark mode automatically at night?#

On Android and iPhone, yes. Set Gmail to follow the system (System default on Android, which is the normal state on iPhone), then schedule your phone's appearance: on Android under Display, Dark theme, and on iPhone choose Automatic under Display & Brightness. Gmail then goes dark at night and light by day.

On the web, plan on setting the theme yourself. Some recent Gmail versions may offer a system-following theme option on the web, but Google's help pages do not document one, so check the Theme picker on your account rather than relying on it.

How do you turn off dark mode in Gmail and go back to light mode?#

Reverse the path you used and choose Light. Each device is switched back separately.

• Web: gear icon, Theme, View all, pick a light theme such as the plain Light tile, then Save.
• Android: menu, Settings, General settings, Theme, then Light (or System default to follow the phone).
• iPhone and iPad: Settings, Display & Brightness, Appearance, Light. This changes every app that follows the system.

Why do my emails still show white in Gmail dark mode?#

Gmail darkens its own interface, but a message is a small web page that its sender designed. Plain emails often adapt to dark. Newsletters, receipts and marketing emails with a hard-coded white background usually stay white, because forcing them dark risks unreadable text. I could not find a Gmail setting on the web that darkens every message body, so there is nothing to switch on.

If one message is unreadable, view it in the Light theme, or on Android read the fix in our Android dark theme guide.

Does dark mode help your eyes or save battery?#

It depends on the room and the screen. Dark mode throws less light at you, which many people find more comfortable in a dim room or at night. In a bright room, light text on a dark background can be harder to read for some people, including some with astigmatism. On OLED phone screens dark pixels use less power, so the battery saving is real but modest.

I would not treat any of this as a rule. Try dark mode for a few days, and if you read more comfortably, keep it. The automatic setup above, dark at night and light by day, avoids having to choose.

Why is Gmail dark mode not working?#

• Web: make sure you clicked Save after picking the Dark tile, and that you are in the right Google account and browser.
• Web: a browser extension that forces dark mode on every site can fight Gmail's own theme and produce gray, muddy text. Use one or the other.
• Mobile: update the Gmail app. Older versions may not show a Theme option.
• Android: if Gmail is set to Light, it ignores your phone's dark mode. Choose System default or Dark.
• iPhone: Gmail follows iOS Appearance, so check Display & Brightness, not Gmail.

What if I want a consistent dark theme across all my email?#

Gmail's dark mode only covers Gmail. If you also use Outlook, the switch is elsewhere: see how to turn on dark mode in Outlook. For a comparison of apps with a truly dark message view, read email clients with a real dark mode.

AI Emaily is an email client with light and dark themes that sits on top of your Gmail account, plus AI that drafts replies from a Context you set, with every send approved by you. It is a bigger change than a theme setting, so try it only if you want that. There is a 7-day free trial.