This post is going to show you how you can enable dark mode in Google Sheets.

Google Sheets is a spreadsheet tool with many great features such as PivotTables, functions, and real-time collaboration.

Working with Google Sheets at night can be frustrating as the tool has a totally white background that really pops out and causes a strain on the eyes.

Unfortunately, Google Sheets doesn’t provide any dark theme of its own. But they don’t restrict you to make customizations to enable your own dark themes.

You can use extensions already available in the add-on market for free to easily convert Sheets into a dark theme perfect for your eyes at night.

Throughout this article, you will be introduced to the ways of enabling dark mode to the Google Sheets on different web browsers, Android, and iOS devices.

This post will also teach you an interesting technique in which you can easily make your sheets appear in a dark mode without even installing any extension.

Are those sheets adding strains to your eyes at night? It’s time to explore dark mode instead! 🌞😎

How to Enable Dark Mode on Google Chrome Browser

Chrome is the most popular web browser, so the first thing you probably would like to know is how to enable dark mode on Google Sheets using Google Chrome.

Google Sheets doesn’t officially provide any dark mode feature, so whatever you will learn now will be an additional way that forces the Google Sheets to work in dark mode.

One of the best ways to enable dark mode on Chrome is using the flags.

chrome://flags/

Open the new window in your Chrome browser and type in chrome://flags/. This will open the Experiments window in Google Chrome, as shown above.

Through the Seach flags search box, search for force dark mode. It will show an option under the Available tab as seen above. This allows you to set up the dark mode for each website viewed on Chrome.

Note: You can alternatively also search for #enable-force-dark, which will lead towards the same experiment option.

You can see that the value for this experiment is set to Default in the dropdown on the right side.

This means that whatever default settings are set for a particular web page, Chrome will follow the same and will not forcefully change and apply the custom theme.

Click on the Default dropdown to see all the available options and select the Enabled option to forcefully change the dark mode to each web page and its contents.

Relaunch the Chrome browser and the changes will be implemented to each web page you visit.

Navigate towards https://sheets.new/ to open a blank sheet and see the changes in the appearance.

The Dark Theme is applied, however, the theme only applies to the Menu ribbon, the options, the slider, and the Sheet Names. The sheet grid of Google Sheets remains white.

If this is not the adequate dark mode you were looking for, then open the Chrome Webstore and search Google Sheets Dark Theme.

You will get plenty of options to turn the sheets into the full dark mode. Select the extension named Dark Mode – Night Eye.

Click on Add to Chrome button to add this extension to Google Chrome.

The Dark Mode – Night Eye extension will make your Google Sheets appear in full dark mode. The cells are now black as well, which is an excellent way to work at night.

Warning: The #enable-force-dark, as well as Dark Mode – Night Eye extension are features not available for everyone in every country. They might sometimes slow your browser down or affect the overall system performance.

How to Enable Dark Mode on Edge Browser

The second most popular browser after Google Chrome is Microsoft Edge. It is the official browser of Microsoft and a true successor of Internet Explorer.

The browser doesn’t support the Dark Mode for Google Sheets. However, there are plenty of add-ins or extensions that provide the option to add a dark theme for the Google Sheets through Edge.

The same Dark Mode – Night Eye extension found in Chrome will also work for Microsoft Edge.

Open the Microsoft Edge browser and click on the three dots on the extreme right to open the Menu.

Click on the Extensions menu.

Then click on the Open Microsoft Edge Add-ons website link. This will open up the list of Microsft Edge add-ons that can be used to simplify your tasks.

Through the search box, search for Google Sheets Dark Mode.

It will open up multiple Add-on tools, as shown above. Choose the Dark Mode – Night Eye and click on the Get button to add it to Microsoft Edge.

That’s it! You can now see that the Google Sheets are appearing in Dark Mode on Microsoft Edge as well.

How to Enable Dark Mode on Safari Browser

For the Safari Browser, you also have the same Dark Mode – Night Eye extension available to help you apply the dark mode for Google Sheets.

The standard system dark mode is there, it doesn’t help set up the Sheets in Dark Mode.

You can install the Dark Mode – Night Eye add-on from the official App Store using this link Dark Mode – Night Eye for Safari.

Open the Settings from your mac or iPad, or iPhone. Scroll down until you find the Safari. Click on it to expand the selection and view the options under it.

Under the General section of the Settings, click on the Extensions menu to manage the extensions that you have installed.

Under the ALLOW THESE EXTENSIONS list, you will see Dark Mode – Night Eye option.

Click on the Dark Mode – Night Eye option and turn it On.

Under the PERMISSIONS FOR “DARK MODE – NIGHT EYE” section, click on Allow for All Websites.

That’s it! You can now comfortably access Google Sheets in dark mode through your Safari Browser.

How to Enable Dark Mode of Firefox

Another popular browser in use is Mozilla Firefox.

You can enable the dark mode for Google Sheets on this browser as well. There is no default setup in which you can apply the dark theme, so you will need to rely on third-party extensions that do the task for you.

For Firefox, an extension trusted by many is Dark Reader. It allows you to view every website on Firefox in dark mode which will also turn Google Sheets into a dark mode theme as well.

Open the Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the three horizontal menu lines from the extreme right to open the menu.

Click on Add-ons and themes or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A.

On the Firefox Add-ons Manager tab that opens up next, search for Dark Reader. This is an extension that applies dark mode to every website viewed in Firefox.

Click on it and on the next page you can press the Add to Firefox button to add this extension to the browser.

Load your Google Sheets now, and it will be in full dark mode.

Note: All the extensions mentioned here are third-party applications to enable the dark mode on each website. Use them at your own risk.

How to Enable Dark Mode on Google Sheets Andriod or iPhone App

Mobile phones nowadays are pretty customizable. Whether it’s an Android or Apple device, most of the apps are highly customizable.

Unlike web browsers, you don’t need to install a third-party app to enable dark mode for Google Sheets apps. You have a built-in theme option that works as per your convenience to convert the sheets into dark or light mode.

First of all, install the Google Sheets mobile application on your Android or iPhone and open the app.

On the upper left corner, you will see three horizontal lines placed one below another. That is the Menu. Click on it to see the available options.

Click on the Settings option to move ahead.

Click on Theme to see if you can apply the dark theme to this mobile app.

There are three options associated with the Themes.

You can keep the Google Sheets in Light, Dark, or System Default. The System Default options will default to your device system settings to determine the theme used.

Click on the Dark option to set the dark mode for Google Sheets on your mobile device.

You now have dark mode enabled for your Google Sheets on mobile!

How to Change Grid to Dark Mode in Google Sheets

The previous web browser options on the desktop used a third-party add-on to apply the dark mode on Google Sheets. But you may want to avoid using unknown third-party solutions.

Don’t worry, it is possible to avoid the use of these third-party extensions to create a full dark theme.

You don’t need to install any add-on, just a simple utilization of color formats in Google Sheets will get it done.

Open the Google Sheets in any web browser.

Select all the cells in your sheet using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + A.

Set the cell or Fill color as Black. You can also use the hexadecimal code #000000 to add black color to all the cells.

Then, set the Text or Font color as White. You can also use the hexadecimal code #FFFFFF to set the text color to White.

That’s it! Enjoy the Google Sheets in Dark Mode.

Though you have to apply the same Fill and Font color to each sheet every time you add a new one in Google Sheets.

This method is pretty safe and impactful to work in Dark Mode like scenario with Google Sheets without installing any third-party add-ons.

Conclusion

Google Sheets is a browser-based application and unfortunately doesn’t support a dark mode.

You can enable the dark mode in Google Chrome through the flags but the sheet interface or cell grids will remain white.

Most modern browsers support extensions that can be used to enable a true dark mode.

If you don’t trust the third-party add-ons, you can use a custom dark mode of your own, but this will require changing cell and font color on each sheet in your workbook.

The Google Sheets app on Android and Apple devices supports light and dark themes options as standard menu settings so you can easily set up dark mode.

Do you use dark mode on your apps? Do you know any other way to enable dark mode in Google Sheets? Let me know in the comments below!