AO3 dark mode – dig through archives without eyestrain

ao3 Blog dark mode | Night Eye

The Archive of Our Own (AO3) is one of the largest communities for writing and reading fanfiction stories and books. But AO3 has no built-in dark mode. So the light from the website makes reading on AO3 for extended periods or at night painful and uncomfortable for the eyes. Night Eye offers a more convenient solution to creating your own AO3 dark mode.

Night Eye is a free dark mode browser extension that transforms your AO3 screen and background from AO3’s default black text on a white background to an incredibly stunning white text on a black background. This setup allows you a soothing and easily customizable dark theme that helps reduce eye strain and eye fatigue. 

In this guide, we will show you how to set up the AO3 dark mode using Night Eye, discuss the benefits of dark mode, and provide answers to your most troubling questions. 

How To Setup The Night Eye AO3 Dark Mode

The Archive of Our Own dark mode

Night Eye works perfectly on tons of web browsers. So you can easily install Night Eye in a few clicks to enjoy a stunning dark mode for all your favorite websites and pages. Once installed, Night Eye will transform not only your AO3 homepage but also any other open websites and web pages. 

Follow the prompts below to enable AO3 dark mode and enjoy the free dark mode browser solution.

  • Go to the end of this post and click on the icon for your browser (e.g the Chrome browser icon represents the Chrome browser)
  • Selecting the icon should redirect to your browser extension store.
  • Next, select “Add” and Night Eye installs instantly on your browser offering a rich default black theme that you can begin using right away. That’s it. 
  • Once installed, go to https://archiveofourown.org/ and start reading with the darker and more enriching interface that you will absolutely fall in love with. 

Why It Is Important To Choose Ao3 Dark Theme

Lots of users on AO3 enjoy reading their favorite stories for long hours at a stretch. But prolonged screen time, on a glaring white screen, can make your eyes hurt after a while. This is likely due to eye strain and has been one of the reasons AO3 users have campaigned for a suitable dark mode for the platform.

When the eyes become tired of the bright glare, an AO3 dark theme will provide a suitable soothing alternative. 

Night Eye is a fantastic dark mode extension that does the job perfectly. Unlike most dark mode browser extensions that merely invert colors, Night Eye provides darker fonts and visuals on a gorgeous black background. Plus, you will have three main modes: “dark mode,” “Filtered” and “Normal.” 

You can enable dark mode or turn it off whenever you like.  Night Eye also allows you to change colors, sepia filters, glare, dimness, brightness, and contrast to create your personal dark theme style. You would love the way texts and graphics pop out on your screen, creating a captivating atmosphere that supports your reading pleasures. 

image 6 | Night Eye

What are the health benefits of the AO3 dark mode?

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the AO3 dark mode is that you can safeguard your eyes from undue stress and strain. That undue stress on the eyes can lead to aches, dryness, headaches, migraines, and blurry and painful vision. That said, there are many more benefits to using the AO3 dark mode:

  • Cuts down blue light: Most default themes come with excessive exposure to blue light waves. Night Eye offers controls, to increase or decrease the blue backlight of your screen. 
  • Helps minimize neck and shoulder pain: Undue stress to the eyes causes blurry vision which can cause us to shift closer to the screen when reading, therefore assuming a bad posture. On the flip side, the dark mode allows you to maintain a comfortable position, thereby alleviating posture issues.
  • Helps you sleep better: If you read on AO3 before bed, the dark mode can cut down blue light rays, thereby improving your melatonin levels at bedtime. Hence, your night reading won’t stop you from falling asleep easily.

When To Use AO3 Dark Theme

image 6 | Night Eye

AO3 dark mode is a superb environment that helps you read for hours and hours while protecting your eyes. Dark mode can extend your battery life, making it easier to read without worrying about your device going off on you. For the battery-saving power alone, thousands of users enjoy dark mode at all times of the day. However, there are specific times when it’s perfect to use the AO3 Night Mode:

  • An excellent choice for reading at night or in dimly lit environments
  • Dark mode makes it easier to read in bed and can rock you to sleep if that’s your choice.
  • It is a must-have for people suffering from light sensitivity or photophobia
  • Dark mode creates a clutter-free environment that helps you focus on getting lost in that beautiful story for maximum satisfaction.

Install Night Eye

No credit card, no names, nothing is required – install Night Eye on your preferred browser and enjoy it completely for free for 3 months. Subsequently, you can stick with the free Lite version or subscribe for $9 per year. You can see for yourself how this dark mode browser extension can help you fight eye strains.

chrome | Night Eye
| Night Eye
Microsoft Edge Night Eye Installer | Night Eye
safari | Night Eye
opera | Night Eye
| Night Eye
Uc browser night mode | Night Eye
vivaldi | Night Eye
brave logo | Night Eye
naver whale browser | Night Eye

Final thoughts

With Night Eye, you can enjoy a stunning dark mode that allows you to write and read to your heart’s content on AO3. Unlike most dark mode browser extensions, Night Eye does not invert colors. In its place, you can enjoy a gorgeous black background and light text to help reduce eye strain and make reading less painful at night and in low-light environments. Download Night Eye today and enjoy the amazing AO3 dark mode