Set apps to always use dark or light mode on your iPhone – without compromising the system-wide appearance

Some apps look great in dark mode and some don’t. So when you have system-wide dark mode enabled on your iPhone and you’re using an app that only looks good in light mode, you’ll usually have to manually disable dark mode and then re-enable it when you leave. But there is a workaround that can automate this process for you.

Perhaps the best dark mode improvement coming in iOS 13 is the per-app display of dark and light. Only it’s not as easy as flipping a switch. While iOS 15 has a Per-App Settings section in Accessibility settings that lets you set app-specific text size, button shapes, color style, and other settings, there is no “Use Dark Mode”or “Use Light Mode”switches.

Instead, you’ll need to see if the app in question has an override in its settings, and if not, you’ll have to set up two or more automations in shortcuts to achieve per-app dark mode settings. You can create super-simple automations that turn on dark or light mode when you open the app, but this has drawbacks, namely that it will affect your system-wide appearance.

If you want to keep your iPhone’s system-wide dark or light mode setting after exiting the app you’ve assigned to automate dark or light mode, the workflows are a bit tricky, but not complicated. This is the closest we get to assigning each app a preferred dark or light look, which we’ll see until Apple gives us a real per-app option or until all apps enable overrides.

using lock switches for individual applications

Some third-party apps embed dark mode override settings that allow you to choose whether the app stays in dark mode, light mode, or syncs with the system-wide look and feel. If you choose to customize an app to a specific look and feel, it will always use that look and feel, and it won’t affect the current system-wide settings.

So if you set the app to light mode only and dark mode is currently enabled system wide, the app will use the light view and you will see the system-wide night view for everything else when you exit the app.

Not all applications have an override, but some include:

• Facebook: Go to Menu -> Settings & Privacy -> Settings -> Dark Mode.
• Google Maps: In the Overview or Go tab, tap your profile icon, then go to Settings -> Dark Mode.
• Messenger: Tap your profile icon in any tab, then select Dark Mode.
• Snapchat: Tap your profile icon on any tab, then select the settings gear and then App Appearance.
• TikTok: In the Profile tab, tap the three-line menu icon and select Dark Mode.
• YouTube: Tap your profile icon on any tab other than Shorts, then go to Settings -> General -> Dark Theme. (Note that YouTube doesn’t give you the option to leave it the same as the system-wide setting, so it’s always light or dark depending on your preference.)

From left to right: Google Maps, Messenger, and Snapchat override toggles.

creating custom switches for applications

If the app itself doesn’t have an override to set device-wide dark mode, you’ll need to create an automation that turns on dark mode or light mode for all the apps you choose. You will then need another one when you close those apps, which will revert the look to what it was before the apps were opened. This way, assigning apps to a particular look and feel will not affect the system-wide settings.

Create an empty TXT or RTF document in files

Before running the automation, create a new file. txt or. rtf with a name something like “DarkOrLight”and then move it to a specific location in the Files apps. Since you want the automation to work whether you have internet access or not, I would suggest putting it in the Shortcuts folder in the On My iPhone directory rather than somewhere in iCloud.

You can create an empty file. txt or. rtf on your computer and then share it with your iPhone. Or you can use an app like Pages or Documents by Readdle on your iPhone and save it directly to a directory of your choice in Files.

The first automation will use a file to write the name of the current appearance as “Dark Mode”or “Light Mode”before the opening app switches to its assigned dark or light mode. The second automation will then check this file whenever the application closes and switch to the view that is reading.

Set apps to always use dark or light mode

It’s time for the first automation. This is where you choose dark mode or light mode and give all the apps you want the look you want. If you want some apps to stay dark and some always look light, you need to create a separate automation for each. The automation will also detect the previously used look and feel and record the state in the document that the second automation will refer to.

1. Open the Shortcuts app.
2. Launch a new personal automation from the Automation tab.
3. Select “Application”as the trigger.

1. Click “Select”next to “Application”.
2. Check all the applications you need and click Done.
3. Make sure the checkbox is “Open”and not “Closed”.
4. Click “Next”to continue.

1. Add a “Get device information”action.

1. Click “Device Name”in the “Get Device Information”action field.
2. Select Current View.

1. Add a Text action below the Get Device Information action field.

1. Tap the text action field.
2. Select “Current View”as the variable.

1. Add an Add to Text File action below the Text Action field.

1. Tap a directory in the Add action field. (Mine is Labels.)
2. Select “Replace”from the menu.. .”.
3. Select the location where your file is located.
4. Enter a filename beginning with / (slash) as the file path. (Mine is /DarkOrLight.txt.)

1. Add a Set Appearance action below the Add to Text File action field.

1. Skip this part if you want apps to use dark mode. Otherwise, click “Dark”in the action field and select “Light”.
2. Click “Next”to continue.
3. Turn off “Ask before launch”and confirm “Don’t ask”.
4. Click “Done”to finish.

1. Optional: Repeat the entire process to create another automation for different apps that will use the opposite look and feel.

Set apps to return to previous view when closed

It’s time for the second automation. You will select all the same applications as for the first automation; only this one will work when these applications are closed. This automation will also need to read the appearance that the first automation wrote in the document and then set it as the appearance of the entire device. This way, when the app closes, your system reverts to whatever dark or light state iOS was in before you opened the app.

1. Open the Shortcuts app.
2. Launch a new personal automation from the Automation tab.
3. Select “Application”as the trigger.
4. Click “Select”next to “Application”.
5. Check off all the apps you selected in the previous automation and click Finish.
6. Make sure the checkbox is “Closed”and not “Opened”.
7. Click “Next”to continue.
8. Add a File action.

1. Click “File”in the file action field.
2. Select your file.

1. Add a “Split Text”action below the file action field.

1. Add a Get Item From List action below the Split Text action field.

1. Click “First Item”in the “Split Text”action box.
2. Select “Last Item”from the menu.

1. Add an “If”statement below the “Get item from list”action field.

1. Click “Condition”in the “If”action field.
2. Select “yes”from the menu.
3. Click “Text”in the same action window.
4. Enter “Dark Mode”and press “Done”on your keyboard.

1. Drag the Set Appearance action right after the If action field.
2. Drag another Set Appearance action right after the Otherwise box.

1. Click “Dark”in the second “Set Appearance”action box and select “Light”.
2. Click “Next”to continue.
3. Turn off “Ask before launch”and confirm “Don’t ask”.
4. Click “Done”to finish.

1. Optional: If you’re creating separate automations to enable dark mode and light mode for different apps when they open, you’ll want to repeat the entire process to work with a different look.

That’s all. Now, every time you open one of your selected apps, they turn on dark mode or light mode, depending on what you set up when you first automate. Every time you close one of the installed apps, iOS reverts to the previously recorded view.

creating a simple automation to assign appearance to applications

If option 2 above is too complicated, there is an easier way to assign specific images to applications, but there are also disadvantages, namely:

• Exiting the app will not return to the view you were using before opening the app. If your application has an internal override, it’s wise to use it.
• A system-wide dark or light mode won’t make much of a difference if you customize the look and feel of all your apps, and it can even be confusing.

If that’s okay, you can create a simpler automation that turns on dark mode or light mode for all the apps you choose. This way, whenever the assigned app is opened, dark mode or light mode is activated regardless of the current system-wide appearance—even if the system-wide is on schedule.

If you need more control, you can set up a different automation for the opposite look and feel that you set before. So if you just set up the app list in dark mode, set up the app list in light mode as well. Then make sure you set all apps on your iPhone to one or the other. Any time you close or switch to an app other than the home screen, the next app should switch or keep the current look depending on how it’s configured. This also has disadvantages:

• You can’t select the home screen from the list of apps, so it will always show the last app you were on.
• If you schedule all your apps to run in dark mode or light mode, scheduling a system-wide dark mode tonight (or ever) is pointless.
• If you want the app to look different at some point, you’ll have to manually turn dark mode on or off.

If that still sounds ok, here are the instructions:

1. Open the Shortcuts app.
2. Launch a new personal automation from the Automation tab.
3. Select “Application”as the trigger.

1. Click “Select”next to “Application”.
2. Check all the applications you need and click Done.
3. Make sure the checkbox is “Open”and not “Closed”.
4. Click “Next”to continue.

1. Add a Set Appearance action.

1. Skip this part if you want apps to use dark mode. Otherwise, click “Dark”in the action field and select “Light”.
2. Click “Next”to continue.

1. Turn off “Ask before launch”and confirm “Don’t ask”.
2. Click “Done”to finish.

1. Optional: Create the same automation again, minus the opposite look you just set up, and assign the desired apps to it. Alternatively, you can create another automation that prompts you to select either “Dark Mode”or “Light Mode”when you close the assigned app, making sure that’s always what you want. But if you’re doing all that work, it might be better to just use option 2 above instead, so that it fully automates your selection system-wide.