How to use Dark Mode on Mac

How to use Dark Mode on Mac

Late-night screen use and insomnia go together like blue light and disrupted circadian rhythms. (This type of light is particularly bad for convincing our brains it's still daytime.) It can also cause eyestrain, tiredness and stress. For these reasons many software companies have worked on ways to adjust computer, tablet and smartphone interfaces for evening or nighttime use. Some devices have a special 'Dark Mode' which is designed to kick in during the evening hours. Apple has created a Dark Mode for its Apple TV, which changes much of the interface furniture from white (or light) to black (or dark); this is more restful to use in the evening. The Mac doesn't officially get Dark Mode, but it gets something similar, and in this article we show you how to switch it on and what it does. For related advice, take a look at and . To turn on Dark Mode on a Mac, go to System Preferences > General and put a tick next to 'Use dark menu bar and Dock'. Remove the tick from Use Dark Menu Bar and Dock to return to standard mode. If there's a way to activate this mode on Siri, we haven't found it. Remember that it isn't officially Dark Mode even if it offers similar features on a narrower scale so telling Siri to turn on Dark Mode gets a response of Sorry, David, I can't do that, or similar. Likewise, we didn't get anywhere by reading out the name of the menu option as shown above. Once 'dark menu bar' mode is switched on, you'll see that the interface is subtly, but not drastically, different. As the option name suggests, it changes the look of only the menu bar (at the top of the macOS interface) and the dock (at the bottom). Here are some things to look out for in this mode: You can also use the General Settings to change other parts of macOS from Blue to Graphite. This removes much of the colour from macOS and we think it looks good (although it's a bit goth). We like Dark Mode: it's a refreshing alternative to the partially translucent interface found in macOS High Sierra and other standard macOS interfaces.