How To Change The Background Color Of Gmail App On "Android" Phone

(Pocket-lint) - Most major apps these days have a 'dark mode' you can enable. That - of course - includes Google's popular Gmail app.

Dark modes have become very popular in recent years, thanks to their ability to blacken interfaces, thereby reducing the strain on your eyes and simultaneously saving your device's battery life. As a result, companies like Google and Apple have begun to release system-wide dark modes across their operating systems, and even app developers are updating their apps with their own dark mode takes.

Here's how to get Gmail's new dark mode, also known as "dark theme".

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How to enable dark mode on Gmail's mobile app

If you already use Android 10/11+ or iOS 13/14+ and have dark mode turned on at the system level, the Gmail app will auto-adjust to dark mode. However, you can also turn it on separately in the Gmail mobile app. Here's how.

Android users

In the Gmail app on your phone, tap the hamburger menu in the top corner.
Scroll to the bottom and tap Settings.
Tap General settings.
At the top, tap Theme.
Tap Dark (or, if you've already set the dark theme as your system default, tap System default).

Note: If your mobile device is running Android 10 or later, you can set dark theme as the system default on your device, and then all supported apps that adopt the default system will automatically go dark. Just go to Settings > scroll down and tap on the Display option > and tap on the Dark theme toggle. Gmail will, by default, automatically respond to this system default setting.

iPhone users

In the Gmail app, tap the hamburger menu in the top corner.
Scroll to the bottom and tap Settings.
Tap Theme.
Tap Dark.

Note: If your device is already running iOS 13 or later, you can set dark theme as the system default on your device, and then all apps that adopt the default system will automatically go dark. Just open Settings > go to Display and Brightness > and Tap Dark to switch to Dark mode. If you're running an older version of iOS, go to Settings in the Gmail app > then Theme > and select "Dark".

Gmail will, by default, automatically respond to the system default setting.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Cam Bunton. Originally published on

25 September 2019.