Dark Mode: How Users Think About It and Issues to Avoid

Summary: Dark mode is popular, but not essential. Users like dark mode but maintain similar behaviors without it. They think about it at the system level, not the application level. If you choose to support dark mode, test your design to avoid common dark-mode issues.

Dark mode is more popular than ever. You might even think it’s essential — at least if you were to read many of the web-design articles devoted to the topic. However, it takes valuable time and resources to fully support dark mode and “wear it well” because most designs are built in light mode first. To understand how much dark mode impacts users, we recently conducted a survey and some mobile usability-testing sessions in dark mode on mobile.

Why People Say They Use Dark Mode

In a recent survey of 115 mobile users asking what mode they generally have their mobile device in, roughly 1/3 said dark mode, 1/3 said light mode, and 1/3 said a combination of both. The argument that dark mode improves the user experience (and accessibility in some cases) always seems to circle back to the same few reasons, mentioned by users, designers, and developers alike:

Let’s take a closer look at the commonly cited reasons for supporting and using dark mode.