25 Android apps with dark themes

I know I’m not the only one who’s sensitive to bright light shining in my face in the nighttime, and heck, even in the daytime.

Unfortunately, Apple, Google, and Microsoft have been slow to update their operating systems with extensive dark modes –those that primarily use dark colors in the background instead of white, gray, or some other light color. In the case of Android, a developer preview of Android Nougat included one, but the feature ultimately didn’t make it into the final release. Something similar happened with Nougat’s predecessor, Android Marshmallow. You can turn on the Color inversion feature in the Accessibility section of Android’s Settings menu, but then photos and other app components can look strange.

So we’re left to look for individual apps with dark themes. The good news is that more and more apps have been incorporating them, and sometimes they’re even enabled by default. Recently, I made a list of 25 iOS apps with dark themes. Now it’s time to post a list of 25 Android apps that currently have dark themes. Without further ado:

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1. Twitter

This is a recent addition, one that reduces the appeal of third-party Twitter clients for Android that have included dark themes such as Echofon, Fenix, and Twidere. The background seems to have a pleasant midnight blue hue.

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2. Firefox

The reader mode in this browser — which you can enable by tapping the book icon in the omnibar — contains a dark option. It makes for easier reading on the web.

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3. Reddit

The online discussion board’s recently launched official Android app has an optional night mode that you can turn on from the app’s settings menu.

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4. DigiCal

This calendar app from third-party developer Digibites offers a dark theme, but beyond that, it lets you use toggle between blue and black as the “primary color.” Other colors are available through in-app purchases.

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5. NewsBlur

This news-reading app lets you read articles shared by your Facebook friends and by people you follow on Twitter.

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6. AccuWeather

This app contains maps, videos, hourly and daily weather and precipitation forecasts, and alerts for multiple locations.

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7. SwiftKey

This swipe-friendly Microsoft-owned virtual keyboard app ships with a whole bunch of dark themes to choose from, and more are available for download from the SwiftKey Store. (Some cost money, and some are available free of charge.) But then again, the standard-issue Google Keyboard offers some dark themes, too.

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8. WhatsApp

In the Chats section of this Facebook-owned messaging app’s settings menu, you can select Wallpaper, open up the Solid Colors options, and then choose a dark color in order to implement a dark background for conversations. Alternatively, you can install the WhatsApp Wallpaper library to get more options, or you can choose an image from your device’s Gallery.

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9. Weather Underground

This weather app provides daily and hourly forecasts for multiple places, along with sunrise and sunset times and relevant health information. It also has a good at-a-glance notification displaying the current temperature.

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10. Google News & Weather

Google’s own app for Google News and weather information includes a pervasive dark theme.

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11. Pocket

I read a lot in Pocket. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do on my phone before I go to bed. The dark theme really makes a difference in the experience.

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12. Feedly

This RSS reader is a lifeline for me, as a person who reads a lot each day. I don’t know what I’d do if the app didn’t have a dark theme.

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13. Spotify

One of the first things that comes to mind when you think of this music streaming app is its default dark look. It’s the anti-iTunes in that sense. It’s surprising that Apple Music, which is trying to displace Spotify, still has no dark theme available.

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14. Clock

Google’s default app for showing the time and letting you set timers and alarms has a very limited “night mode” that you enable by selecting that option from the Ellipses menu in the top right corner. It shows the time in dimly lit pixels atop a black background.

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15. Monospace

Monospace, from developer Jack Underwood, is a very simple but effective and elegant writing app that lets you save your files in Markdown format in Dropbox (Google Drive support is available if you buy the Pro version), so you can work on files across devices. The dark theme by default makes the background a dark gray, but you can opt to use “true black” instead in the app’s settings menu.

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16. Google Play Books

Google’s default app for buying and reading ebooks lets you read in a dark theme. The theme does not extend to other parts of the app. But the reading component of the app does include a feature called Night Light, which filters out blue light to make it easier to fall asleep.

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17. Puffin

This fast and innovative browser from CloudMosa, which was founded by former Google developer Shioupyn Shen, lets you choose a color theme for menus and other elements of the app.

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18. QuickEdit

This text editor from China’s Rhythm Software offers a dark theme, as well as a full black theme.

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19. News Republic

This news-reading app, which Cheetah Mobile recently acquired for $57 million, provides a dark theme while you’re reading or just scanning headlines.

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20. Brave

The Android version of the open-source ad-blocking browser from former Mozilla chief executive Brendan Eich’s new company, Brave Software, applies its dark theme to reading mode, menus, the omnibar, and other areas. The Android app was based on the app Link Bubble.

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21. Signal

Open Whisper Systems’ encrypted calling and messaging app offers a dark theme.

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22. Total Commander

This file manager from developer Christian Ghisler is based on the eponymous program for Windows that was once called Windows Commander. It lets you see what exists on your Android device. The app’s default user interface is dark, although you can customize it.

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23. TickTick

This task-management app from developer Appest syncs tasks across devices and has a nice web version. The Android app has a dark theme, along with “city series” themes.

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24. Instapaper

Pinterest recently acquired this article-reading app from Betaworks. Marco Arment originally launched the app in 2008. When the Instapaper team announced the deal, it promised to “continue to make Instapaper a great place to save and read articles.” The app gives users black and dark gray themes in addition to white and beige.

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25. YouTube Gaming

If you want to watch people streaming themselves playing your favorite games, you can go to Twitch, or you can go here. Google launched this app last year, and while it might not be as popular as Twitch, its default user interface is nice and dark, unlike the one on Twitch.

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Enjoy!