Is the light mode at night on your Windows desktop blindingly bright? And dark mode during the daytime too dark to be legible? Sure, you could manually adjust the brightness accordingly, but there’s a proper way to do it – scheduled dark mode. The feature is something we’ve seen several operating systems pick up over the past few years. Both Android and iOS have had it for years now. And with it turned on, the system automatically toggles between dark and light modes based on the time of the day, making things easier on the eyes.
Unfortunately, Windows 11 offers no such thing. The operating system requires you to open up the Settings app and manually switch between the two modes, which is cumbersome. What’s worse is that the operating system also lacks a shortcut on the Action Center, further discouraging users from switching between light and dark mode based on the time of the day.
But there is a workaround. The Auto Dark Mode app on Windows 11 compensates quite well, presenting you with options to set custom hours for dark mode or switch to it automatically during sunset.
Here’s how you can make the best use of it:
Firstly, you’ll have to open the Microsoft Store on your Windows system. Next, type “Auto Dark Mode” in your search bar, and click on the first result – Auto Dark Mode by Armin Osaj.
Hit “Install.” The app is safe to use – the 4.7-star app rating attests to that.
Open the app following installation and you’ll see the options to schedule dark mode right on its home screen.
“Set custom hours” does exactly what it says. Turn it on and you can set custom start times for light mode and dark mode. The app will force Windows 11 to switch between the timings specified by you.
But if you’d rather let the app handle the timings based on the sunset and sunrise times of your area, you can turn on the “From sunset to sunrise” option instead. Note that you’ll need to grant Auto Dark Mode location permissions to help it match the sunrise/sunset timings of your area.
Another cool thing you can do with the app is set key shortcuts for dark/light mode. The option for that can be found under the “Switch Modes” page.
Why use dark mode
If you’ve been a lifelong light mode user and are looking to move to the dark side, then the following benefits of using dark mode will convince you to make the switch.
Reduced eye strain and better sleep
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) recommends says that “the contrast and colors used in night mode reduce glare and help our eyes adjust more easily to surrounding light, leading to less eye strain and easier, comfortable reading.” While there’s still some debate surrounding the effectiveness of dark mode, many users do report that it’s helped reduce eye strain. Along with dark mode, you’d also want to turn on the Night light. This is something Microsoft’s added to the Windows 11 Action Center. Open it and you’ll see the option right there.
Improved battery life
It’s well-known that lower brightness levels help save battery life, but turning on dark mode alongside lowering brightness levels on AMOLED displays can help squeeze some out some more screen-on-time from your battery. Google confirmed this in its 2018 Android Dev Summit.
