Since yesterday google chrome have been running in dark mode. As far as I understand, this is due to a new update which makes chrome follow the mode of my default app mode. When I google for an answer most of the questions is about how to enable dark mode, but not many about how to disable it or force light mode.
I'm running on windows 10 with dark mode as default app mode and I intend to continue doing so, so changing to light theme isn't the solution here. I have tried changing the theme on chrome but the url bar is still in black so that would be the last solution.
I've seen a number of command line switches on peter.sh but those are intended for chromium, not google chrome (I know that they share many similar switches but they are not completely identical). I saw that there is a --force-dark-mode but it seems like there isn't any --force-light-mode.
Can I find an updated list of google chrome command line switches somewhere else, or any other solution that might work?
Thanks in advance!
25 Answers
As of the version 76.0.3809.100, this solution doesn't work anymore. (1),(2)
I took a look at this issue in Google Support and found this answer:
Add to Chrome shortcut properties target:
--disable-features=DarkModeSo the entire target looks something like:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disable-features=DarkMode
Do this to your desktop shortcut (and unpin/repin the icon in the taskbar to get the updated shortcut) and it should be light while Windows is still in Dark Mode.
9Currently I've found no real solutions but a few workarounds that I will put here for reference.
Set default app mode to "light"
The workaround I'm currently using is setting the default app mode to light. It's exactly what I don't want to do in order to fix this, but it's my best choice for now.
Download a Google Chrome theme
If you still want to have the default app mode set to dark, you can install a white theme to google chrome. This isn't really the best workaround. While it does give you a light mode chrome it also leaves your URL field completely dark.
Use a different web browser
This isn't really a workaround but choosing a different browser might relieve you from the fear of Google's scary whims. As I said "This isn't really a workaround" but sometimes many problems can be solved by switching browsers.
Use the --disable-features=DarkMode switch
Possibly the worst workaround is reverting to chrome to any version prior to version 76.0.3809.100, disable auto-updating and adding --disable-features=DarkMode to the shortcut used when starting chrome.
The target string should look like this "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disable-features=DarkMode. Of course the path itself will be different if you've installed chrome elsewhere.
The reason why this is possibly the worst workaround is because it not only leaves you without newer updates to chrome, but it's also a big security risk. Google actively push out security updates to their browser and without them you're more vulnerable to malicious attacks.
I won't mark this as answer as it doesn't propose a solution yet. I will add more workarounds (and hopefully a solution) here as I come across them.
1In the Chrome address bar enter the following:
chrome://flags#enable-force-dark
Then, for the option ensure that option "Disabled" is selected. After the change your browser will ask you if you want to restart - do so.
I solved this problem by going to Go to windows setting > colors > Custom and then I chose Dark for default Windows and Light for Windows App.
1I have same problem as well.
It's about your windows setting. Go to windows setting > colors > choose your default app mode to "light", then go back to chrome, it should change back to the original light mode.
But of course it means your windows can't have dark background of course. For your reference, now I choose to stay in dark for windows setting, and change the chrome theme to "pro grey', it a compromise for me.
change the setting from dark to light
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