For the longest time, users have been asking for the night or the dark mode on Google Chrome. While there are many night-mode extensions for Chrome on desktop, the feature was missing in the Android variant up until now. But, thankfully, it’s here. Now, you can enable the night mode for Chrome Android too. However, there is a catch. As of now, you can’t run Chrome fully in the night mode. You have to enable Simplified pages first and then you can use the night mode. Don’t get confused. We will tell you what it is and how to activate it.
Enable Reading Mode
Under the Accessibility settings in Chrome for Android, you’ll find the Simplified view option. When enabled, you will get a pop-up at the bottom of the screen, if the website can be shown in a simplified manner. In the Simplified view, Chrome basically offers articles in the reading mode. It removes all the fancy tabs and colors, giving you a cleaner view of websites like this: To enable Simplified view for web pages, follow these steps: Step 1: Open Google Chrome on your Android device and tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner. Then, tap Settings. Step 2: Under Settings, hit Accessibility. Then, enable Simplified view. This is a one-time step. Now, whenever you open a page, which can be changed to the reading mode, it will show a pop-up at the bottom saying, ‘Show simplified view’. Tap it to convert. Here comes the interesting part to access the night mode on Chrome.
Night Mode for Chrome on Android
Once you have changed the page view to the Simplified view, as shown above, you will get new customization options. You can change themes – Light, Dark, and Sepia, and also customize the font style and size in the Simplified view. To access and enable them, tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and select Appearance from the menu. Please note that you should be in the Simplified view to access the Appearance options. A pop-up will open that consists of options like font style, size, and themes. Tap the Dark label to activate the night or dark mode. You can also use the Sepia mode that adds a Sepia effect to the background. To go back to the normal mode, just tap the back key on your device.
Android Tools for People Who Love to Read
Google on Tap
This isn’t a third-party app but a hidden feature available on all Android devices. In Chrome, while reading an article, if you find a difficult word, you don’t need to search for its meaning manually. Just tap the word once and Google will show you its definition. The same feature can be used for other things as well. For instance, if you tap an app name or a name of some place, Google will show related information about the selected text. However, if you’re not satisfied with Google on Tap, you can install a third-party dictionary app that will pop up definitions when you copy a word on Chrome.
Reader for Chrome
If you’re the kind of a person who likes audiobooks, you will love this tool. Going by the name Browser Reader for Chrome, this app reads text from the Chrome browser. All you need to do is copy the text and it will read it aloud to you.
Save for Later
Unlike Microsoft Edge that comes with a built-in feature to save pages in the reading mode format, Chrome doesn’t have this feature. If you save a page, it will be saved as a normal page. Hence, to save pages for later read, you can use third-party apps such as Pocket and Instapaper.
Your Favorite?
I don’t like the night mode personally but my friends can’t live without it. Do let us know your favorite reading mode on Chrome for Android — light or dark. We made a video around the same showing everything step by step. So if you prefer that, just hit the play button.
