Dark Reader for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox This extension inverts brightness of web pages and aims to reduce eyestrain while you browse the web. Visit Edge Addons, Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons for more info. Jan 15, 2020 One of the best and most used dark mode extensions for Chrome is the Dark Reader. That’s because it works across all types of websites such as social (Facebook, Instagram), Google products.
Google Chrome started to officially support dark mode in 2019, but it only works in some areas of the browser, such as the tabs or the bookmarks bar. If you want to apply the dark mode to webpages, you need to use a dark mode Chrome extension.
The good news is that there are multiple dark mode extensions available for the browser, so you can easily be one that best suits your preferences.
To make the choice easier for you, we compiled a list of the best dark mode Chrome extensions available out there that will darken your browser completely.
Let’s check them out.
1. Dark Reader
Dark Reader is one of the most popular dark mode extensions for Chrome, mostly because it works across all Google products, including Sheets, Docs, and Google Drive, and on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Once you install the extension, you can apply the dark team to all open tabs.
What makes Dark Reader stand out from the crowd is the ability to customise the darkness by adjusting the contrast and brightness. Moreover, you can add websites to a blacklist or whitelist, according to your preferences.
Pros
- You can adjust contrast, brightness, font settings, and even use a sepia filter
- There are no ads when use the extension
- Makes bright colours easier to read at night
Cons
- Sometimes the app stops working when adding sites to the blacklist or whitelist
Review Summary
Score: 9.7/10
Most reviewers are happy with the Dark Reader app, measuring that it is easy to use and provides great relief for their eyes. One of the negative points some people raise is the fact that using dark mode decreases performance in the browser. Business tasks that can be automated.
2. Night Eye
This is a Chrome extension that uses a proprietary algorithm to enable the dark mode instead of just inverting the collars as many other extensions do. It also comes with a variety of features to control the built in dark themes of websites such as Reddit, YouTube, 9gag, and many others. Night Eye is free to download and it also offers a paid version if you want to use it on more than five websites.
Pros
- Compatible with multiple devices, not just computers
- Allows you to control the built-in dark themes of Reddit or YouTube
- Trial version available
Cons
- App is only free to use for up to five websites
Review Summary
Score: 9.4/10
Most users praise the excellent customer service and the ease of use. Some reviews note that the extension makes the websites slower.
3. Lunar Reader
With Lunar Reader, you can customize the contrast, brightness and grayscale of any website. A night shift mode makes reading even more comfortable by adding a yellow effect to web pages. Other features include scheduling of the dark mode, blacklist and whitelist. Users can easily activate any of the functions with simple keyboard shortcuts.
Pros
- Offers consistent results on all websites
- Easy to adjust brightness, saturation and contrast in real time.
- Highly versatile thanks to the blacklist/whitelist option
Cons
- Doesn’t adjust links, headings, and other elements
Review Summary
Score: 9/10
Reviewers are pleased with the extension, mentioning that you can toggle it on/off with a single click for particular websites and the choice will be remembered for the next visit. A downside several reviewers mention is that the extension is glitchy on long web pages.
4. Dark Mode
This is an easy to use extension that comes with multiple custom themes for selected websites. You can choose from several different dark styles, but the extension doesn’t allow you to customize contrast or brightness manually. The toolbar button makes it easy to switch the dark mode on or turn it off with a single click. A whitelist feature enables users to exclude websites from dark mode.
Pros
- Whitelist and blacklist feature
- Global theme that works for all websites
- Multiple dark styles to choose from
Review Summary
Score: 8.7/10
Many reviewers mention that the extension is easy to use and works on the vast majority of websites. There are also some reports of the extension crashing on some websites.
5. Midnight Lizard
An open-source project that’s hosted on GitHub, Midnight Lizard is an excellent dark mode Chrome extension for those like granular controls for everything. Users can set the same dark theme for all websites or use different colors for various websites. This is one of the few extensions that allows you to configure the background text, borders, links, and even scrollbars.
Pros
- Free to use
- Highly configurable, including on links, scrollbars and images
- You can use various colors on different websites
Cons
- There have been reports of the whole browser crashing when using the extension
Review Summary
Score: 8.6/10
Most users love the flexibility the Midnight Lizard extension offers and appreciate how well it works out of the box. Some reviewers noted that the extension may cause the browser to crash.
Previously, there is no dark mode for Google Chrome like other browsers. But now Chrome dark mode is available for every user who needs it. Ever since Google Chrome 74, you can enable the dark theme for Chrome on Windows 10 without turning the whole system black.
Therefore, there are mainly two available choices open to you in order to enable or disable Chrome dark mode, either turn on the dark theme for Windows or for Google Chrome only.
How to Disable or Enable Google Chrome Dark Mode on Windows 10, 8, 7?
It is natural that turning off Windows 10 dark theme would also disable Google Chrome dark mode as well. But if you prefer to disable Chrome dark mode but leave Windows system dark theme, you can only find answers below. And after that, given your needs, it is also feasible to turn Chrome dark mode on for Windows 10.
Whether you would rather disable dark mode on all the system or turn off it for Chrome only, prior to the specific steps, you are supposed to update Google Chrome and Chrome components so as to make sure the Chrome version supports dark mode on your PC.
Methods:
Method 1: Disable or Enable Chrome Dark Mode Only
Provided that you dislike dark mode on Chrome but need the dark theme on Windows 7, 8, or 10, you may as well turn off Google Chrome dark mode feature separately.
1. Right click Google Chrome on your Desktop to head to its Properties.
2. In Google Chrome Properties, under Shortcut, locate Target and then copy, paste -disable-features=DarkMode.
3. Then hit Apply and OK to save changes.
Restart your Chrome browser.
Now you can notice that Google Chrome dark mode on Windows 10 disappeared. Nevertheless, if you feel like enabling Chrome dark theme, just delete -disable-features=DarkMode from the Target box. As for users would rather dark mode in Windows but the light mode in Chrome, or light mode in Windows 10 but the dark mode in Google Chrome, you may need to try this way.
Method 2: Disable or Enable Windows and Chrome Dark Theme
Dark Reader Chrome
Supposing you just love all the interface, either on Chrome or those on Windows system, just directly turn off Windows 10 color. That will bring your PC into the black theme in all programs.
1. Go to Start > Settings > Personalization.
2. Under Color, scroll down to locate Choose your default app mode and then set it Dark.
3. To disable Windows 10 dark theme along with Chrome dark mode, make the app mode Light.
The instant you tick the circle of Dark, you will observe all the app interfaces, including that of Chrome, are in dark mode.
Tips: It is said that Chrome dark mode will not be available until Windows 10 dark theme came into use. Therefore, you may as well check if your system support app dark mode or whether Google Chrome installed has a dark mode.
Dark Reader Chrome Plugin
Method 3: Use Chrome Dark Mode Extension
When it comes to people whose Google Chrome is not supportive of dark mode, it is worth a shot to install a reliable and convenient dark mode extension on this browser. Such extensions like Dark Reader will enable you to enable and disable dark mode on Chrome.
In short, in order to turn Chrome dark mode on or off on Windows or Google Chrome only, you are suggested to change settings for Chrome or for Windows 10 system.