How to Enable Dark Mode for TikTok

Dark mode is an excellent feature that most modern devices support. By reducing the strain on your eyes, you can spend more time working or enjoying online content. That said, a considerable number of apps aren’t supporting dark mode just yet.

One such app is TikTok. Although it still does not have full support for dark mode on every operating system, it is slowly getting there. If you wonder how to get dark mode working on TikTok, the following sections will provide all the information you need.

How to Turn On TikTok Dark Mode on Android

At the time of writing, June of 2022, TikTok has yet to release the in-app dark mode for Android devices. Even if you scour the Internet looking for it, you won’t get any info about the existence of such a feature.

However, there are some indications that some beta testers did get the dark mode on their Androids. Although that may be true, if you install the app from Google Play, you won’t find any dark mode options.

Considering that TikTok recently released dark mode support for the latest version of iOS, hopefully, Android will get its own soon. Clearly, patience is the name of the game here.

How to Turn On TikTok Dark Mode on an iPhone

Unlike Android, TikTok did add dark mode support for iPhone and iPad devices. You can use the in-app switch to turn dark mode on or off, or you can do it using system settings on your iPhone. To learn how to do all of this, follow the steps below.

Note: Before proceeding, please make sure you have updated your iOS to version 13. Next, check if you have the latest update for TikTok as well. You can find it on the App Store.

1. Open the TikTok app on your iPhone.
2. Next, tap Me. It is the tab in the bottom right corner of the screen.
   
3. Tap the More button in the top right corner. It is the one that looks like three horizontal lines.
   
4. In the Content and Activity section, tap Dark mode.
   
5. Now you will see the options to use either Light or Dark mode. Tap Dark.
   

As soon as you tap Dark, the app’s interface will immediately switch to dark mode, and that is it.

If you want TikTok to follow the system setting for dark and light modes, tap Use device settings instead of tapping Dark Mode in Step 5. It is the one right beneath the Light and Dark options. Once you enable it, TikTok’s interface will alternate between the two modes according to your phone’s appearance.

Now that you have set the TikTok app to follow your system settings, it is time to enable dark mode on your phone.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
   
2. Tap Display & Brightness.
   
3. In the Appearance section at the top of the screen, you will notice the Light and Dark options. Tap Dark to enable it.
   

Once you do that, your phone’s entire appearance will change to dark mode. If this process seems cumbersome for you, there is also a more convenient way to switch between the modes:

1. Swipe your finger from the top right corner of the screen to open the Control Center menu. Tap and hold the Brightness control to open up its dedicated menu.
   
2. Here you will see the appearance mode button in the lower-left corner. Tap it. If you are currently in light mode, it will switch to Dark and vice versa.
   

Even more convenient than that is to add the Dark Mode switch to Control Center. To do that, follow the steps below:

1. Open Settings.
   
2. Scroll down to the Control Center option and tap it.
   
3. Tap on the green + icon next to Dark Mode.
   
   

Next time you open Control Center, you will see the Dark Mode switch there. Simply tap it to alternate between the modes.

To fully utilize the Use device settings option in TikTok, enable automatic switching between light and dark themes on your iPhone. To do so, instead of tapping Dark in the iPhone’s Appearance section, tap Automatic now. It is right beneath the Light and Dark options.

The Automatic feature provides two options:

1. Sunset to Sunrise will automatically switch between light and dark modes based on your current location and relevant time zone.
2. You can also choose custom times to enable each of the two modes by tapping Custom Schedule. With this option, you will have to separately enter the times when you want to enable each of the modes. For example, you can set the light mode to kick in at 6:00 AM and dark mode at 10:00 PM.

How to Turn On TikTok Dark Mode on a Windows, Mac, or Chromebook PC

At this time, only the iOS TikTok app has the benefit of a built-in dark mode. Unfortunately, the situation with desktop and laptop computers is more similar to the Android scenario. Because there is no dedicated TikTok app for computers, there’s no way to control its appearance as on iOS. Or is there?

Luckily, there is a third-party application that can help you with that. Accessing TikTok from a computer boils down to opening it in a browser, and that’s where the Turn Off the Lights extension comes in, sorting out the dark mode problem for you.

What is great about this extension is that it works with most Internet browsers you can find on modern computers. You can use it with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, Opera, Brave, etc.

To install the Turn Off the Lights extension, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Turn Off the Lights download center in your favorite browser.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to get the download links for each browser this extension supports.
   
3. Click the one that is right for your browser.
4. Depending on the browser you are using, the link will either direct you to the dedicated download page or start the download of the install file. And depending on your browser’s security settings, you might have to approve the download of the file manually.
   

Once you install the extension, it will appear in your browser’s extensions menu. The icon looks like a small grey lightbulb, but before you can use it, you will have to set it up.

1. Right-click the Turn Off the Lights extension icon in your browser.
   
2. Click Options.
   
3. Now the extension’s options page will open in a new tab of your browser.
4. Click Night Mode from the menu to the left.
   
5. In the Night Mode section, tick the checkbox next to the Show the night switch button… option.
   

Now, whenever you open a page in your browser, you will see the Night Mode switch appearing in the bottom left corner of the page. Simply click it to switch between the Night and Day modes. Of course, this works with TikTok as well.

Besides the switch feature, there are also a lot of other options you can use in the Night Mode menu.

• The options Background color, Text color, and Hyperlink color allow you to further customize the website’s appearance when turning the night mode on.
• You can also use the extension’s lamp icon as a shortcut for enabling dark mode.
• If you find the switch annoying, you can make it go away after you define a certain number of seconds.
• If you do not want to use night mode with specific websites, you can add them to a blacklist. Conversely, you can use the whitelist option to define only certain websites which should use the night mode.
• Also, there is an option to set the time period when you want to see the switch. For example, you probably do not need the night mode switch during the day. Of course, it would be handy if it appeared in the evening.
• You can make the night mode switch become transparent, reducing its impact on the content you are reading or watching.
• You might not like to have the switch button at all. If so, you can enable a shortcut that turns the night mode on after a long press of the mouse button on the page.
• Finally, you can play with the position of the Night Mode switch. There are four options to choose from: top left, top right, bottom right, and bottom left. If none of these work for you, you can also choose a custom position for the switch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is some more information about TikTok and Dark Mode.

When is Dark Mode coming to Android?

Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer to that just yet. As we’ve seen with other popular applications, the Dark Mode feature can sometimes take years to become a part of the app’s interface. The best thing to do is check your TikTok app’s Settings periodically to see if the feature is there.

Of course, always keep your app up-to-date as well. When the feature is finally rolled out to Android users, it will come with a new update. An out-of-date application will not have the new features.

Does Dark Mode change the way my videos look?

No. Changing your settings to dark mode will not affect the appearance of your TikTok videos or your For You page. Dark Mode only affects the look of your profile and settings.

Going Dark with TikTok

Hopefully, this article helped you learn how to enable dark mode on TikTok. Except for Android devices, there’s a solution for all other systems you might use. With this mode, you can safely enjoy all the interesting content without worrying about straining your eyes in the Dark.

Have you managed to enable dark mode on TikTok? Are you watching TikTok more during the day or in the evening? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.