Turn on dark theme & color inversion

Some of these steps work only on Android 11.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

You can change your display to a dark background using a dark theme or color inversion.

Dark theme applies to the Android system UI and supported apps. Colors don't change in media, such as videos.
Android 16 and newer versions now feature dark theme’s expanded option. This new option automatically darkens interfaces. It applies to most apps without native dark-theme support.
Color inversion applies to everything on your device, including media. For example, black text on a white screen becomes white text on a black screen.
- Both color inversion and dark theme’s expanded option can impact color quality or legibility.

Turn on dark theme

Open your device's Settings app .
Select Accessibility.
Under "Color and motion," turn on Dark theme.

Turn on dark theme’s expanded option

Important:

When the expanded option is in use, some apps may look different. Images may appear altered or text on top of images may be hard to read.
- You can set up apps with appearance issues to ignore the expanded option.
  1. Next to the expanded option, tap Settings .
  2. Turn off the toggle next to any app with appearance issues.
- To turn off the expanded option for all apps, select Standard on the dark theme settings page.
If the expanded option is on but an app still appears light:
- The app may not support the expanded option yet. It can be on a block list from your device's manufacturer.
- The app may have opted out of supporting dark theme’s expanded option.

Open your device's Settings app.
Select Accessibility.
Under "Color and motion," select Dark theme.
Select Expanded.

Tip: You can access this feature through the existing Quick Settings tile. If you don't find the tile, add it to your Quick Settings panel first.

To turn dark theme on or off: Tap the Quick Settings dark theme tile .
To switch between standard and expanded: Touch and hold the Quick Settings dark theme tile to open the dark theme settings page, then tap the option you want to use.

Turn on color inversion

Option 1: Use device settings

Open your device's Settings app .
Select Accessibility.
Under "Color and motion," select Color inversion.
Turn on Use color inversion.

Tip: You can create a Color inversion shortcut. Learn about accessibility shortcuts.

Option 2: Use a keyboard shortcut

Important: To use this feature, your device must have Android 17 and up.

If you use an external keyboard with your Android device, to turn color inversion on or off, press Action + Alt + I.

You can complete quick actions, like accessing system menus or performing platform specific shortcuts, through the Action key. This can vary based on the keyboard:

Windows keyboard: Use the Windows key.
Mac keyboard: Use the Command key ⌘.

Get more help

For more Accessibility help, contact the Disability Support team.