Skip to main content

Twitter to impose dark mode as it’s ‘better in every way,’ Elon Musk says

If you tend to use Twitter in light mode, then prepare for things to change.

The microblogging platform, which is in the process of rebranding to “X” under the orders of new owner Elon Musk, looks set to ditch light mode, leaving you with only one: dark.

In a tweet on Thursday, Musk, who acquired Twitter in October for $44 billion, said the platform will soon offer dark mode only as it is “better in every way.”

Elon's Musk's tweet suggesting Twitter, or X, will soon only have a dark mode.
Twitter

At the current time, Twitter lets you choose from three display settings: light, dim, or the very dark “lights out.”

You also have the option to link the display to your phone’s settings so that the app switches between light and dark modes according to preset timings.

But according to Musk, that’s set to change.

He didn’t say when the dark-mode-only redesign will come into effect, so it could happen tomorrow. Or possibly next year. You never really know with Elon Musk.

One user also tweeted an image of the platform’s current verification mark — a white checkmark inside a blue cloud — alongside a possible future alternative showing a white checkmark inside a black cloud. But as was pointed out, that might not look so great if the background is also black.

Regardless of aesthetics, dark mode is a better option for night reading, reducing the strain on the eyes compared to a bright white screen. It may also help to save some battery power.

It’d be an odd move to remove a display option, after all, surely you’d want your users to be able to set it up in a way that’s most comfortable for them. But then, this is now Musk’s Twitter (or X), so pretty much anything goes.

Indeed, future changes to the app are expected to be far more profound than the loss of light mode as Musk wants to transform X into a so-called “super-app” offering a range of services — think messaging, banking, payments, meal delivery, ridesharing, shopping, and so on — similar to China’s WeChat.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Linda Yaccarino fires off first tweets as Twitter’s new CEO
A stylized composite of the Twitter logo.

Linda Yaccarino has tweeted her thanks to Elon Musk for appointing her as the company’s new CEO.

Musk named Yaccarino as the new Twitter chief on Friday and she will begin work in the next six weeks. On the same day, she stepped down as ad sales chief at NBCUniversal after 12 years at the media company.

Read more
Elon Musk says he’s appointed a new Twitter CEO
A digital image of Elon Musk in front of a stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating.

Twitter owner Elon Musk has found someone to replace him as the company’s CEO, but he hasn't revealed who it is.

Musk tweeted on Thursday that the new CEO will step into the role at some point over the next six weeks.

Read more
Twitter gives blue check mark to dead folks
Twitter logo in white stacked on top of a blue stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating in shades of blue.

The continuing saga of Twitter and its blue check mark has taken a bizarre twist as it seems that a number of deal celebrities are now paying for Twitter Blue.

On the orders of new owner Elon Musk, Twitter last week started removing blue check marks from accounts that have not signed up for Twitter Blue, its premium tier.

Read more