Summary
Dark mode is finally coming to Google Drive on the web, making it easier on the eyes for users of the cloud storage service.
Google has been slow to adopt dark mode for its Workspace apps, but Drive is now leading the way with this change.
Users can enable dark mode in Drive by going to Settings and changing the appearance.
Dark mode took off with the advent of AMOLED displays a few years ago, with many web developers and app management teams scrambling to implement the new feature. It makes reading much easier on the eyes, and some would argue it also reduces power consumption on AMOLEDs, but in any case, Google wasn’t a forerunner in adoption. To this day, a vast majority of Workspace apps don’t offer the convenience on the web version, but things are now starting to change, starting with Drive.
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Google’s Material Design principles for Android have forced system-wide Dark Mode on most Android apps, but the brand has a plethora of apps to manage, and details often slip through the cracks. That’s perhaps why just a handful of services such as YouTube and Search have dark mode support on the web, while a majority of Workspace apps like Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc. are missing out. A few exceptions in the suite are Google Chat and Gmail, but even in the latter, the email contents display against a white background.
It’s the start we were hoping for
Google Drive with dark mode enabled
Now, Google is rolling out dark mode for one of our favorite cloud storage services, Drive, to reduce the strain on your eyes while you browse through your cloud storage on the web and take a minute to organize all the auto-saved Workspace documents. 9to5Google reports the change is rolling out now, and you should see a pop-up on the site alerting you of the change.
However, if the pop-up doesn’t show, or if you dismiss it accidentally, the toggle is located under Settings → General → Appearance. Drive uses a deep gray shade for the search bar background and sidebar, with a slightly lighter shade for the search bar itself.
It’s important to note this toggle doesn’t change much besides the file management view. As soon as you hop into a Workspace utility like Sheets or Slides to edit a document, you’ll be blinded by light mode on the web, again.
Although the change is rolling out already, only a few users are seeing it. We hope it reaches a wider audience soon, and this change sets the precedent for the web UI of other Workspace apps, so we can ditch hacky browser extensions and Android emulators just for dark mode.