Wikipedia is one of the largest open-source websites that hosts information on a wide variety of topics. Contributions on new topics and edits on existing ones can be made by anyone, and all of this information can be accessed for free. There are over 53 million pages on Wikipedia with over 6 million of them being full articles.
There are absolutely no advertisements on Wikipedia, and it can be accessed from any country throughout the world. Apart from the Wikipedia webpage, there is also an official app available on both iOS and Android phones. But, one of the jarring features of the Wikipedia webpage is the fact that it’s only available in a light theme with a white background on all articles.
In this article, we will take a look at how you can get rid of the white background on both the Wikipedia webpage and the app. By the end, you should be able to access your favorite Wikipedia articles with a dark theme.
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Is There a Dark Mode Available by Default in Wikipedia?
The availability of a dark mode on Wikipedia is dependent on how you access it. Dark mode has been a recent trend in all modern apps and services. It does help to reduce strain on your eyes while reading long articles like the ones available on Wikipedia.
Wikipedia has only recently introduced the dark theme on its mobile apps on both Android and iOS. It can be toggled on or off from the settings, and you can also dim the images on Wikipedia articles, which further integrates the experience. But overall, the website does not provide any kind of toggle or option for a night/dark mode, which can be a bit jarring for users.
How to Turn on Dark Mode on Wikipedia Website?
First of all, we will take a look at how to turn on dark mode on the Wikipedia website. This can be done in quite a variety of ways, with browser extensions being the best option available. There are several of them that you can use, and most of them offer similar functionality.
Most of the browser extensions listed below are available on the Chrome Web Store and should work seamlessly with Google Chrome. If you use other popular browsers like Firefox or Edge, then there are also similar options available on those.
Here are some of the best extensions available for turning on dark mode on Wikipedia, with some of them even having options for enabling dark mode on other websites.
Wikipedia Night Mode
This is one of the most simple to use and functional options for turning on dark mode in Wikipedia. It has over 40,000 users on Chrome and allows its users to work comfortably at night or in low light conditions.
You can use it right from the extensions tab on Chrome. It can be enabled by tapping on the extension icon and should be activated instantly. Apart from making the background dark, it also manipulates the text color accordingly to match the overall aesthetic and provide a non-jarring experience while browsing.
Get it here: Wikipedia Night Mode
Dark Reader
In case you want a dark mode for every website out there that does not have a native dark theme, then this extension will help you to do so. Once you add this extension to your browser, you can bring it up while browsing Wikipedia, and tap on the extension icon to get many different options for making the backgrounds darker or dimmer.
You also get options to toggle the dark mode on or off by using a combination of keyboard shortcuts. There are also options to manually increase or decrease the brightness and contrast using the provided sliders. You can also exclude certain websites from getting a dark mode while using it universally on other websites.
Get it here: Dark Reader
Night Eye
This is another Chrome extension that allows you to get a completely dark theme on Wikipedia in a simple manner. Night Eye has customized dark mode for several popular web pages and can be used on any website on the internet.
When you enable this extension from your browser, it analyzes the colors on the page and inverts them accordingly to create a complete dark mode experience. It is also totally compatible with Wikipedia, and the theme it offers is quite usable, without affecting certain elements on the page in a negative way.
Get it here: Night Eye
Now that you have a clear idea of how to turn on dark mode on the Wikipedia website, let’s move on to the Android and iOS apps that provide you with a native dark mode.
How to Turn on Dark Mode in Wikipedia App?
Toggling the Dark mode on or off on the Wikipedia app is quite easy, as the option is available natively available on both the Android and the iOS app.
Dark mode on the Wikipedia iOS App
- Open the Wikipedia app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Look for the ‘settings’ icon on the top left corner.
- Once inside the settings, look for “Reading Preferences”.
- From here, you can choose from a variety of themes and color schemes for your dark mode like Sepia, Dark, or Black.
- After selecting your desired dark theme, choose whether you want to dim the images on the website or not. You can find these options below “Reading Themes”.
That’s it. Now you have a functional dark mode on your Wikipedia iOS app.
Dark Mode on the Wikipedia Android App
- Navigate to the top right corner of the app, and access the settings from there.
- Under settings find the option “App Theme”.
- Here you’ll get the options for either “Dark” or “Black”. Unfortunately, there’s no Sepia option like the one in the iOS app.
- Choose the color scheme you want, and either turn on image dimming or leave it as it is.
This concludes the process of turning on the dark mode in Android or the iOS app.
Conclusion
‘Dark mode’ is a feature that is offered by most modern websites and services. This helps reduce a lot of the strain that your eye endure during your night or low light browsing sessions. You can turn on the dark mode for Wikipedia directly from the app or by using certain extensions on the webpage.
