How do I darken the background on my Android phone?

Many Android users want to darken or invert the colors on their screen background for various reasons. Using a darker color scheme can provide several benefits such as reducing eye strain, especially at night, saving battery life on devices with OLED displays, and creating a more aesthetically pleasing look.1 2 By making simple changes to the display settings, Android users can enable dark mode or a dark background to enjoy these advantages.

Check if Dark Mode is Available

Newer versions of Android have a built-in dark mode that allows you to toggle between light and dark themes for the entire system UI. This changes the look of menus, settings, and stock apps to have white text on a black background instead of black text on a white background.

To enable dark mode on Android:

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down and tap Display.
Look for an option called Dark Theme, Dark Mode, or something similar. It may be under Advanced or Device Theme.

Toggle the Dark Theme/Mode setting On.

If you don’t see a Dark Theme or Dark Mode option, then your Android version likely doesn’t support a system-wide dark mode natively. You’ll need to use other methods to darken your screen.

Use a Dark Wallpaper

Setting a dark wallpaper is an easy way to make the background of your Android phone darker. Here are some tips for using a dark wallpaper:

Find a wallpaper image that is predominantly dark in color. Solid blacks, dark greens, blues, grays, etc. work well. There are many dark wallpaper apps and websites to browse, like this Pinterest board.

Open your Android’s Settings app and go to Wallpaper. Select which Home and Lock screens you want to change. Tap on Gallery, Wallpapers, or Photos to pick an image from your phone’s storage. Alternatively, tap Wallpaper Services to browse online wallpaper sources.

Once you’ve picked out a dark wallpaper image, set it as the wallpaper for your chosen Home and/or Lock screens. Make sure to resize and position the image if needed.

Your phone’s background should now be darkened anytime those screens are displayed. Feel free to pick an even darker image or create your own dark wallpaper for maximum background dimming.

Get a Dark Theme

Many launchers and themes offer dark modes that can help darken your overall Android interface. Here are some of the top dark theme apps to try:

Nova Launcher – Popular customizable launcher with tons of dark themes.

Hex Installer – Create a custom dark theme for your system apps.
Substratum – Completely customize the look of your device with dark overlays.
Swift Black – Simple dark mode app that works system-wide.

Eclipse – Open source dark theme manager for Samsung devices.
PitchBlack – Customizable AMOLED black theme for minimalists.

These apps provide an easy way to apply a dark theme across your home screen, settings, notifications and many apps. Try out a few to find a dark look you like.

Use Night Mode in Apps

Many apps now have built-in night or dark modes that you can enable to give the app a darker appearance. Here are instructions for some popular Android apps:

For the Google Chrome browser app, open Chrome and tap the three dot menu icon in the top right. Go to Settings > Themes and toggle on “Dark mode”.

In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, then Settings > General. Toggle on “Dark theme”.

For Facebook, open the app and tap the three line menu icon. Go to Settings & Privacy > Dark Mode and turn it on.

In Twitter, tap your profile icon, then go to Settings and privacy > Display and sound > Dark mode and enable it.

For Reddit, open the app, go to your profile, and tap Settings. Toggle on “Dark mode” under Theme.

Many other apps like Gmail, Instagram, Slack, Pinterest, and more also have built-in dark modes you can enable for a more comfortable nighttime viewing experience.

Lower Screen Brightness

Lowering your screen’s brightness is an easy way to darken the background on your Android phone. The dimmer your screen, the darker the background will appear. Here’s how to lower brightness:

Swipe down from the top of your screen to access the Quick Settings panel.

Drag the Brightness slider to the left to reduce the brightness level. The background will start to dim as you lower the brightness.
To quickly minimize brightness, tap the Brightness icon to the left of the slider. This will enable the “Extra Dim” setting.

Lowering screen brightness not only darkens the background, but also helps save battery life. Keep in mind that an extremely dim screen could impact visibility. Find a brightness level that darkens the background while still allowing you to see the screen clearly.

Enable Extra Dim

Some phones have Extra Dim mode to darken the screen further than just lowering the brightness. This feature blacks out the background significantly while keeping text visible.

To enable Extra Dim:

Open Settings and go to Display.

Look for an option called Extra Dim or Super Dim.
Toggle the setting on.

With Extra Dim enabled, your background will become darker while still allowing you to see foreground content. This helps create an effect similar to Dark Mode without tinting UI elements.

Keep in mind Extra Dim may not be available on all Android devices. But it’s an easy option to try if you want to go beyond standard brightness levels.

Use Dark Mode on Browser

Many popular web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox have a built-in dark mode option you can enable. This will change the browser’s interface and webpages viewed in the browser to a darker color scheme.

To enable dark mode in the Chrome browser on Android:

Open the Chrome app.
Tap the three dot menu icon in the top right.
Go to Settings > Themes.

Select “Dark” under the “Theme” section.

Chrome browser will now display webpages and its interface in a dark theme. Some webpages may still show up light, depending on if they have their own separate dark mode option.

Similarly, for Firefox browser on Android:

Open the Firefox app.
Tap the three line menu icon in the top right.
Go to Settings > Customize.

Toggle on “Dark” under “Theme”.

Enabling dark mode in your browser is an easy way to reduce screen brightness and glare while browsing the web on your Android device.

Sources:
How To Enable Dark mode Chrome Android #Helping Mind

Invert Colors

One way to quickly darken your Android screen is to enable the invert colors setting. This makes light colors appear dark and dark colors appear light. To do this:

Go to Settings > Accessibility.
Tap on Vision and enable Color Inversion.

Now your display will be inverted. Whites become black, blacks become white, and so on (1). This effectively creates a “dark mode” for everything on your screen. It takes a little getting used to, but can be helpful if you want to quickly darken all screens.

The downside is that images and videos that rely on accurate color representation won’t look right. Color inversion is meant as an accessibility feature for those who benefit from higher contrast. But in a pinch, it can transform your bright display to dark mode. Just remember to turn it off again for normal use.

Sources:

(1) How To Invert Colors- Android

Conclusion

To summarize, there are many ways you can darken the background on your Android phone. The simplest options are to enable Dark Mode if it’s available, use a dark wallpaper, lower the screen brightness, or invert colors. You can also download dark themes or enable Night Mode in individual apps.

Going for a darker background has several benefits – it can be easier on your eyes, especially at night. It can also help save battery life on phones with OLED displays. Overall, a dark background can provide a more comfortable viewing experience.