Dark mode toggles: two states are enough

lea.verou.me

6 pointsJeremyTheo4 comments

I would point out that the "system" setting actually does have a special-use case: some users have their OS set to auto toggle from Dark to Light at a specific time (ie: sun down). Imagine how their daily flow is interupted by this? Especially since dark/light mode can be critically important nowadays with hands free night driving. A bright white screen can temporarily blind you.

From the article:

> When you press it for the first time, it toggles to the opposite of what you’re currently seeing, and stores the literal value (light or dark). The next time you press it, it toggles back to the system default, and removes the stored value.

The article even provides a demonstration demo: https://lea.verou.me/blog/2026/dark-mode-toggles/demo

I agree, but as long as the site follows my system settings I won't be needing a toggle at all. But I guess it should be there anyway.

As the article says:

> This article is about how to implement a good dark mode toggle, if you have already decided you need one. It does not prescribe whether one is necessary at all. If you decide to simply default to the system preference and not offer a toggle, I think that is a perfectly valid choice.

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