Use Google Sheets in dark mode (desktop & mobile)

Too much screen time ends up taking a toll on your eyes, especially if you’re looking at light, bright colors, such as a spreadsheet. The white background can seriously strain your eyes, and a headache is practically guaranteed if you’re working with spreadsheets at night. So what can you do to make things easier on your eyes? And your battery? Fortunately, Google’s Dark theme is designed for this purpose and is available for Sheets, Docs, and Slides.

In this guide, you will learn about the Dark theme in Google Sheets. You will learn how to activate it for mobile and desktop devices, how to switch between the Dark and Light themes, and how to view individual Sheets in a Light theme.

What is dark mode in Google Sheets?

Google Sheets’ Dark theme allows you to view your spreadsheets in more soothing tones. This reduces the strain on your eyes, as well as your battery, and is especially helpful at night. The theme is available for mobile and desktop devices, and using it will not affect collaborators.

You can easily switch between Dark and Light themes according to your needs. Additionally, you can preview specific spreadsheets in Light mode to check how it looks. In the next section, you will see what the Dark theme looks like and learn how to activate it on different devices and platforms.

How do I view Google Sheets in dark mode on desktop?

Unfortunately, the Dark theme is not currently available for desktop. However, there are some ways to mimic or recreate aspects of this theme. For example, by using a dark mode for your browser or OS, but this doesn’t always apply to the spreadsheet itself. However, some browser extensions do change the spreadsheet’s appearance.

For example, the ‘Dark Mode – Night Eye’ extension for Google Chrome looks just like the Dark theme in the Google Sheets apps.

1. Search the Chrome Web Store for the Dark Mode – Night Eye extension.

2. Click ‘Add to Chrome’.

3. Click ‘Add extension’ to confirm the installation.

4. Once the extension has been added, open a Google Sheets file to see the changes.

How do I view Google Sheets in dark mode on mobile?

To view Google Sheets in Dark mode on your mobile devices, open the app to the main page, where your files are listed. Click the menu button on the top-left corner and then click on ‘Settings’. Finally, click ‘Theme’ and select ‘Dark’ from the options.

iOS devices

Follow the steps below to activate ‘Dark’ mode in Google Sheets.

1. Open Google Sheets on your iOS device and click on the menu button.

2. Click ‘Settings’.

3. Click ‘Theme’.

4. Select ‘Dark’.

5. That’s it. You have activated the ‘Dark’ theme for Google Sheets on your iOS device.

Android devices

Follow the steps below to activate ‘Dark’ mode in Google Sheets.

1. On your Android device, open the Google Sheets app and click on the menu button.

2. Click ‘Settings’.

3. Click ‘Choose theme’.

4. Select ‘Dark’ to activate that theme.

5. That’s it. The app is now in ‘Dark’ mode.

6. Open a file to see the changes to your spreadsheet’s appearance.

How do I preview specific Google Sheets in light mode on mobile?

While in Dark mode, you can preview specific Sheets in Light mode. Open the spreadsheet you want to preview and click on the ellipsis icon in the top-right corner. You will see a button labeled ‘View in Light mode’. As soon as you activate it, the spreadsheet theme will change to the traditional white background, but the rest of the app will remain in Dark mode.

iOS devices

1. While in Dark mode, open a Google Sheets file on your iOS device. Click on the ellipsis button in the top-right corner.

2. Click the toggle button labeled ‘View in light theme’ to change the spreadsheet’s appearance. However, the app’s appearance will remain the same.

Android devices

1. While in Dark mode, open a Google Sheets file and click on the vertical ellipsis button in the top-right corner.

2. Click ‘View in light theme’.

3. The app’s appearance remains the same, but the spreadsheet is back to the traditional white background.

How do I get Google Sheets out of dark mode?

To get Google Sheets out of Dark mode, you can follow the same steps you used to enable it. Open the Google Sheets app on your device. From the home screen, where your spreadsheets are listed, click on the menu button in the top-left corner. Click ‘Settings’, then click ‘Theme’, and select ‘Light’.

1. In the Google Sheets app, click the menu button and select ‘Settings’.

2. Click ‘Choose theme’ and select ‘Light’.

Conclusion

Using the Dark theme in Google Sheets can help reduce the strain on your eyes and avoid headaches. Unfortunately, it currently isn’t available for desktop, but there are ways of getting a similar result. On mobile devices like tablets or phones, it’s easy to switch between Light and Dark themes.

You now know how to enable Dark mode on your mobile devices, how to preview files in Light mode, and how to switch back. You also know how to achieve a similar effect on your desktop. These themes only affect how you see the spreadsheets, so you don’t need to worry about affecting your collaborators. If you use the Dark theme, you can easily preview specific files to check how it looks in the Light theme.

Dark mode only changes how a file looks on your own screen. To change how a sheet looks for everyone who opens it, you can color your sheet tabs, alternate row colors, or apply conditional formatting based on another cell. And if you spend long evenings in Sheets, the Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts guide helps you move around a spreadsheet without the menus.