BlogAdd to Chrome — it's free

Google Docs dark mode on a computer: what actually works

Published

A laptop at night showing a document with a dark gray page, next to a low desk lamp

In short: Google Docs only has a built-in dark theme in its Android and iPhone apps.[1] On a computer, Chrome's own dark mode darkens the toolbar and menus but not the document page.[2] You can paint the page dark yourself in File › Page setup,[3] or use an extension such as Keeptab Dark that darkens the whole page on your screen only.[4]

It's 11 p.m., the room is dark, and you open a Google Doc. The page hits you like a flashlight. You look for a dark mode switch in the menus, and there isn't one.

Why Google Docs has no dark mode on your computer

Google does have a dark theme for Docs, Sheets and Slides, but Google's help page for it covers only the Android and iPhone apps. On a phone you open the app, tap Menu › Settings › Choose theme (Theme on iPhone), and pick Dark, Light or System default.[1] Google adds that collaborators can't see the theme you choose, and that you can preview a file as others will see it with More › View in light theme.[1]

There is no matching setting in Docs on a computer. So on a laptop you have three options, and they don't do the same thing.

Option 1: Chrome's dark mode (it won't darken the page)

This is the first thing most people try, and it's worth knowing what it really does.

  1. Open a New Tab page in Chrome.
  2. At the bottom right, select Customize Chrome.
  3. Under “Appearance”, choose Dark, or Device to follow your computer.[2]

Google says this makes your homepage, toolbar, settings and some other pages dark.[2] Websites decide their own colors, though, and Docs keeps its white page. You get a dark frame around a bright document, which at night is almost worse.

Option 2: paint the page dark yourself

Docs lets you change the color of the page.

  1. Open the document and click File › Page setup.
  2. At the top of the window, select Pages.
  3. Choose a dark Page color, then click OK.[3]

If your document is pageless, you can change the background color instead.[3] Then select all the text and give it a light color, or you'll be reading black on black.

It works, but read the small print before you do it on a shared file. This is a setting of the document, not of your screen. Everyone who opens it gets your dark page, and you have to do it again for every file. It's fine for a personal notes doc. On a team report, your colleagues will wonder what happened.

What these options don't do

What most people want is simple: the page dark on their screen, every document, without touching the file. That is what an extension can do.

Docs, Sheets and Slides in real dark mode. Keeptab Dark turns the whole Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Excel page dark. Images keep their colors, and there is no white flash. Alt+Shift+D turns it on or off.

Add to Chrome — it's free

Option 3: Keeptab Dark, a dark mode made for documents

Keeptab Dark is a Chrome extension we make. It turns the whole Google Docs page dark, not only the menus, and it does the same for Sheets, Slides and Excel for the web.[4]

The soft gray theme is free. A Pro option adds 11 more themes, an automatic night schedule and a way to keep one document light.[4] Keeptab Dark doesn't read, copy or send your text, and has no analytics or ads.[4]

One honest limit: it's an extension for Chrome on a computer. On your phone, Google's own dark theme is the way to go.

FAQ

Does Google Docs have a dark mode?

Only in the Android and iPhone apps: Menu › Settings › Choose theme (Theme on iPhone) › Dark, according to Google Docs Editors Help. There is no dark mode setting in Docs on a computer.

Why is my Google Doc still white in Chrome dark mode?

Chrome's dark mode darkens Chrome itself (homepage, toolbar, settings and some pages). Google Docs keeps its own white page, so the document stays bright.

Can I make the page black in Google Docs?

Yes: File › Page setup › Pages › Page color. It changes the document itself, so everyone who opens it sees the dark page, and you also need to make the text light.

Do other people see my dark mode in Google Docs?

Not with the phone apps' dark theme: Google says collaborators can't see the theme you choose. Not with Keeptab Dark either, which only changes your screen. A page color set in Page setup, however, is part of the file.

Sources

  1. Google Docs Editors Help. Use Dark theme in Google Docs, Sheets & Slides (Android, iPhone & iPad). https://support.google.com/docs/answer/9955476?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
  2. Google Chrome Help. Browse in Dark mode or Dark theme (computer). https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9275525?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
  3. Google Docs Editors Help. Change page settings on Google Docs. https://support.google.com/docs/answer/10296604?hl=en
  4. Keeptab Dark. Dark mode for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Excel. https://keep-tab.com/dark/

Docs, Sheets and Slides in real dark mode

Keeptab Dark turns the whole Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Excel page dark. Images keep their colors, and there is no white flash. Alt+Shift+D turns it on or off.

Add to Chrome — it's free

More articles