Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Apple
  4. Evergreens

How to enable dark mode in MacOS Mojave

Ditch eye strain for good with MacOS Mojave's built in dark mode

Add as a preferred source on Google
Digital Trends

If you like dark themes, Apple has made dreams come true with an all-new dark mode in in MacOS Mojave. Previous versions of MacOS allowed you to switch to a dark menu bar and dock, but this left many people unsatisfied. This new feature provides an OS-wide dark theme that affects pretty much all the native MacOS features with a classy black/gray look.

If this is exactly what you’ve always wanted for your Mac, we can show you how to access and enable this mode with just a few steps.

Recommended Videos

Step 1: Get MacOS Mojave

Image used with permission by copyright holder

This dark mode is only available through MacOS Mojave, the latest update of the operating system. Mojave is now available to download for free in the Mac App Store. If you aren’t seeing it available in the App Store, try restarting your computer to refresh the system.

Once you have Mojave downloaded and installed, one of the first pop-ups will ask you to choose between Light Mode and Dark Mode. Select Dark Mode, and Mojave will boot up directly with its tinted look. If you want to go back and modify what you’ve chosen, continue on.

Step 2: Head to System PreferencesMac Menu System Preferences

If this isn’t your first time booting up Mojave, you’ll need to head over to System Preferences to switch over to Dark Mode. This can be done in a number of ways, such as doing a spotlight search and typing in “system preferences” or opening it from Launchpad with a four-finger pinch.

Perhaps the easiest way, though, is to click on the ever-present Apple button in the upper-left corner of the screen. System Preferences should be the second option in the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Go to General

System Preferences
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once System Preferences is open, look at the top row of icons. All the way to the left, you should see the icon for General, which is a little File drop-down menu icon.

General is where all the basic settings connected to your Mac’s look and color are located. Select it.

Step 4: Switch your Appearance

MacOS General Appearance
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The very first option in General should be Appearance. In Mojave, Appearance is divided into two icons, a light and a dark option. Simply select the dark icon to switch MacOS over.

That’s it! If you decide you don’t like the dark mode very much, simply switch back to the normal icon in Appearance. You may also want to spend a little more time in General to check out other options for adjusting icon size, highlight color, and so on, so that everything matches your new dark color scheme perfectly.

Tyler Lacoma
If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
Google Chrome’s new early warning system could help you spot scam sites
Chrome can now flag websites that look suspicious even when Safe Browsing is not confident enough to call them dangerous.
Chrome

Anyone who has used Google Chrome has probably seen the red warning screen when they click a suspicious link or try to visit a potentially dangerous website. Google is now beefing up this warning system by adding a new layer that will flag websites that seem fishy, even when Safe Browsing does not have enough confidence to classify them as outright dangerous.

The new Suspicious sites category is being added to Chrome’s Enhanced Protection mode and will sit below the existing Dangerous sites classification. Google says these are pages that show deceptive patterns commonly associated with malicious websites, but where Safe Browsing has a lower-confidence verdict.

Read more
Google is making Gemini smarter behind the wheel by connecting it to Gmail, Photos, and Maps
Gemini can check flight details, find places from photos, and give you personalized answers while driving using your Google apps.
Gemini-personal-intelligence-android-auto

Google wants Gemini to do more than play music or give directions while you are driving. Google is rolling out Personal Intelligence to Gemini on Android Auto starting today. Cars running Google built-in will get it in the coming months. With your permission, this feature lets Gemini pull from your Gmail, Calendar, Photos, Maps, YouTube, and Search to give you tailored answers.

What can Gemini do with your apps while you're driving?

Read more
ChatGPT now has locked chats to keep your sensitive conversations hidden
Locked Chats keeps your private conversations out of that loop by also shielding it away from the chatbot's memory.
Locked Chats for ChatGPT

OpenAI has rolled out a new ChatGPT feature that lets you tuck away your more sensitive conversations behind a lock. It’s called Locked Chats, and it’s the first time I’ve seen this kind of protection on a major AI chatbot. The idea is pretty straightforward, as is clearly evident by the name.

When you move an existing conversation into the Locked Chats section, it is protected by a PIN when you use ChatGPT in a web browser or through the desktop app. On phones and tablets, the protection goes a step further. Besides your device passcode, you can unlock these chats with biometrics, such as Face ID on an iPhone or a fingerprint sensor on Android devices.

Read more