How to Enable Dark Mode in Google Chrome for iOS (And Other Tips)

Google Chrome for iOS was the only major browser without a dark mode. Recently, Safari got one with the iOS 13 update release. By the way, Firefox had built-in functionality for a while. Even Microsoft Edge has had a darker theme since its introduction on iPhone and iPad. But if you’ve stood firm next to Chrome, you can finally start using it in dark mode as well.

Google has now integrated Chrome with the dark mode functionality available in iOS 13. This means that when you use your iPhone or iPad in dark mode, Chrome will start rendering its UI in dark mode as well. This is compatible with Chrome on a desktop mirroring the color mode on Windows and macOS.

Enable Dark Mode

To enable dark mode in Google Chrome, you must turn on the dark mode function in iOS 13. This means that there is no built-in switch in the browser itself to activate the mod. If you don’t know how dark mode works in iOS 13, here is the fastest way to turn it on.

Start by opening the Control Center on your iPhone or iPad (swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen). Follow by long pressing the brightness bar. When the screen zooms in on the Brightness bar, tap the icon labeled Dark Mode. This should enable dark mode.

Note:

Launch Chrome and you should see it render in dark mode as well. The functionality is cleverly implemented – the entire theme is rendered entirely in dark mode, including the Bookmarks, Reading List, Recent Tabs, and History cards, as well as the browser’s Settings panel.

However, the browser does not force websites to view in dark mode. You will still come across sites that offer native support for dark mode and it will display accordingly according to the browser’s color mode. But this is rare.

But the biggest annoyance with Chrome’s dark mode is that the pixels aren’t completely black. So if you’re using an iPhone with an OLED display, you won’t see much improvement in battery life. OLED panels turn off the power to the pixels to create deep blacks. This helps conserve strength. But that’s not the case with Chrome’s dark mode.

To turn off dark mode, long press the Brightness bar in Control Center and then tap the icon next to dark mode.

Fly:

Other Chrome Tips for iOS

Besides supporting dark mode, Google has worked on a few additional apps since the last time we compiled a list of tips and tricks for Chrome. Let’s take a look at a few of them below.

Add Search Engines

Besides being able to switch to Chrome, Yahoo, and Bing, it lacked the ability to add search engines. But while the process is a bit confusing, you can now make any other search engine the default.

Start by typing a query into the search engine you want to use. When it generates the results, go to Chrome Settings > Search Engines. Next, you should see the search engine listed under Recently Visited.

Copy Pictures to Clipboard

When you come across a picture you like in Chrome, you don’t have to restrict yourself to save it in the Photos app. Instead, you can now copy images directly to the clipboard.

To do this, long press an image and then tap Copy Image. After that, you can paste the file anywhere you want, such as the Files app.

Search by Images

Chrome also lets you search directly by images. If you have an image copied to your iPhone or iPad’s clipboard (from Chrome itself or another app), tap the Omnibox and you should see an ‘Picture You’ve Copied’ option. Just tap and you’re ready to go.

Manage Languages

Chrome offers one of the best ways to translate languages ​​on iOS. And with the revamped Language Settings page, it’s much easier to manage how the browser behaves when you encounter different languages.

Go to Chrome Settings > Languages ​​and you can easily add and manage default actions for supported languages.

Clear Browsing Data

While Chrome for iOS has the ability to clear your browsing history for the entire time, it didn’t let you set a time. So even if you only want to delete your activity from the last hour, you have to delete everything.

This has now changed. To change the time before clearing your browsing data, go to Chrome Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data > Time Interval.

Alternatively, you can use Incognito mode or a privacy-focused browser and forget that you always have to clear your browsing data.

Black Knight

While Firefox is a close second, Google Chrome is perhaps the best multiplatform browser on iOS. If the lack of dark mode kept you away from the browser, it’s time to go back.

Here is a video tutorial on how to enable Dark mode in Chrome from our Guiding Tech (English) YouTube Channel:

But while dark mode in Chrome looks great, wouldn’t the option to enable dark mode built into the browser itself be much more useful? Leave a comment and let us know.

Next: Google Chrome has lots of nifty tap gestures on iPhone. Here are the 10 best gestures you can try on your iPhone or iPad.