How to make Messages use Dark Mode on iPhone and Android

Whether you like it or not, Dark mode (especially on AMOLED screens) does have its advantages. But the best thing is to have an option to choose your preference for each app you use. More and more apps incorporate dark mode on Android and iOS is not far behind. With that in mind, some users were wondering how to make Messages use dark mode on iOS and Android, and we made sure to answer that question below.

Table of contents:

1. How to enable Dark Mode in Messages on iPhone
2. Enable Messages Dark theme on Android

How do you turn on dark mode on Messages?

1. How to enable Dark Mode in Messages on iPhone

Just like Android where you usually have a per-app Dark/Light mode toggle for third-party apps, iOS relies on the system-wide theme for system apps. One toggle to rule them all. If you just want the Messages app to be dark while everything else is in the light mode, you’re out of luck.

To enable Dark Mode on iOS, you’ll need to follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Display & Brightness.
3. Under the Appearance section, select Dark.
4. You also have an option to set Custom Schedule or Sunset to Sunrise where your iPhone will switch between Light and Dark modes based on your schedule or day/night.

Now, all system apps and many third-party apps should

2. Enable Messages Dark theme on Android

On Android 10 and later, most apps have an option to choose between dark and light modes. So you can have a light mode set in system settings and still choose the dark mode in individual apps. This mostly applies to third-party apps, as many system apps work similarly to iOS — system-wide theming is applied. For example, most Google apps have toggles in in-app settings that let you change the theme while Samsung Messages default to system settings.

In this case, Android Messages (Google Messages) have a toggle to choose the preferred theme. Users are presented with 3 options — dark, light or automatic theming based on system-wide settings.

Here’s how to enable dark mode in Messages on Android:

1. Open Messages.
2. Tap on the 3-dots menu and select Choose theme.
3. Select Dark and tap OK.

As simple as that. Thank you for reading and we hope that this short article answered your questions about the dark mode in Messages. If you have anything to add to the conversation, make sure to do so in the comments section below.