How to enable dark mode on Google Chrome for Android?

1. Download Chrome 74

Start by checking if your web browser is up to date. Dark Mode Chrome for Android is only available from browser version 74. If you are not sure which version of Chrome you are using, please follow instructions below:

Step 1.  Open Android Settings.

Step 2.  Enter Apps and Notifications, and tap Chrome.

Step 3.  Deploy Advanced Options and scroll through all options. The last line indicates the version number of the browser.

If you haven’t downloaded Chrome 74 or higher version, you will need to update the APP. The new version is being rolled out on the Play Store, but if this version is not loaded on your device, you can load Chrome browser 74 by tapping the APK link that provided here. This is the same file that Google has uploaded to the Play Store. Its installation is therefore safe and will not prevent you from getting future updates from Chrome.

2. Activate Chrome flags

After you downloaded the APP, the next step is to activate manually Chrome flags which enable Google Chrome Android UI to use dark mode. By opening your web Chrome browser, the process may take few minutes before restarting your device again and activating your Google Chrome UI dark mode as explained below:

Step 1.Open Chrome on your smartphone and enter chrome://flags in the browser address bar.

Step 2.In the search field, type Chrome UI dark mode and change the Default Settings to Enabled.

Step 3.  Restart the browser by pressing the Relaunch Now button.

Once you relaunched your device, the main interface of your web Chrome browser will be set as dark mode, which means the dark mode is ready to install in your settings. But make sure your Google Chrome version is updated in order to consider this hidden mode.

3. Activate dark mode for Android

As a new trial version, this option will help you to turn your screen to dark mode and reduced strain on your eyes at night time. Customisable among 20 options, your current color will be set as default (dark theme  # 1) and can be change in the options page if you don’t like the Chrome Browser interface. In addition, the extension offer a filter which exclude websites on dark mode. Useful and convenient, if you want therefore to activate dark mode for your Android, please follow instructions below:

Step 1.  Open your Chrome browser.

Step 2. Tap on the main Menu located in the upper right corner of the screen.

Step 3. Enter the Browser Settings by sliding through dark mode.

Step 4. Toggle the button and activate dark mode.

4. Try the new extension

Given that this new trial version may release some buggs, it may slow down your phone or even causing a malfunction. If the APP doesn’t launch properly or if the dark mode doesn’t appear on your settings, you need to force close your APP and relaunch it multiple times. By doing so, your APP will be fix and display a dark color on bar menu, tab page, tab switch, etc. Make sure your dark mode is switched on. Nevertheless, if you are unable to solve your issue and you don’t see any change on your browser interface after launching your APP, that is recommanded to contact Google customer service.  

The verdict

To conclude, this hidden dark mode shows that Google is working on a system-wide dark mode in the next version of Android. As a new trial, it also has been confirmed in the early beta builds of the Android 10 Q. The new Chrome extension features a new interface customisable among 20 themes which offer different dark gradation colors. Used for reducing strain on your eyes when reading something on your phone in a dark environment, the dark mode mainly saves battery on the smartphone which comes with the OLED and AMOLED displays. At the very end, the dark mode looks way cooler than the default white which you usually get on any other APP or user interface.