What is dark mode?
Dark mode, a.k.a night mode, black mode, or dark theme, is a user interface display setting. It makes reading easier for the eyes, as it displays light color text on a dark background, instead of the usual black text on a white background.
Generally, the idea of dark mode is to maintain the minimum color contrast ratio required for readability while reducing the bright light from the screen.
This makes it easier for your eyes to apprehend the information on the screen since brightness can have a negative effect on your ability to focus.
Just think about it.
It’s late at night and you’re reading a very long article. The website has a standard black text on white background design. Halfway through the article, you start blinking intensively, feeling your eyes dry and itchy. You’re probably going to end closing the article, without reading it through.
We’ve all been there.
That’s exactly the purpose night mode has. It allows you to change the colors, instead of closing the page.
Dark Mode Origins
Six-seven years ago, probably no one knew about a thing like dark mode. Twitter rolled-out its dark mode for Android phones back in 2016. Since then, a lot of sites have implemented their own dark mode, including YouTube, Reddit, Microsoft Outlook, and Pocket.
Night Eye was one of the first to offer a global solution back in 2018. The Night Eye browser extension allows you to turn every website in dark mode, regardless if the site has a built-in dark theme or not.
But why did people suddenly find the need to use dark mode?
There are a couple of major factors behind the rise of popularity of dark themes in recent years. First of all, as you may know, developers write code in dark mode all the time.
Ever wondered why? It’s simple - they spend around 10 hours daily in front of the screen coding. It’s only logical they would use a dark screen, as their eyes would give up quite soon, otherwise.
In recent years, the everyday user has also started to spend much more screen time on a daily basis. Dark mode just makes sense for everyone now.
Another good reason why big sites want to implement dark themes is to stand out from the crowd. Dark mode is still something different, something we’re not too used to. And a site that has its own night mode simply more noticeable.
Of course, it is also a positive in terms of design, since we all know the usual, plain white themes the majority of sites still use.
How to switch to dark mode?
The mere act of switching to dark mode is simple. A quick Google search will show you there are many options for dark mode out there. So, how do you know which one does the job?
Let me tell you, I’ve tried a dozen night mode extensions and apps and most of them don’t live up to the expectations. Simply, because they only invert colors, leaving the websites to look awful. That’s not what a dark theme should be.
In fact, it may leave a lot of people thinking this is all dark mode has to offer. Why should they even bother changing
Don’t throw the towel just yet, my friends.
The real solution exists. It’s called Night Eye.
This dark mode browser extension is powered by an advanced algorithm that uses smart color conversion. It analyzes each individual site, ensuring that you get a smooth and consistent dark theme.
Here’s an example: