Google releases new Chrome updates every four weeks, and Chrome 123 will start rolling out today. There are a few minor new features, but it’s also the end of the road for one popular but hidden feature: a forced dark mode for all websites.
Chrome 123 is primarily focused on new features for web developers. There are a few new CSS functions for sites to change their appearance based on the current color scheme (e.g. light mode or dark mode), and passkeys can now be used in more types of pages. There aren’t any notable design changes or new features for regular users, though Google usually releases those changes in server-side rollouts after the version updates.
However, this release seemingly marks the end of forced dark mode, a hidden Chrome feature that forced all websites to appear in a dark theme. For sites that don’t offer an official dark mode, the feature modifies the site’s appearance to a more dark appearance. The feature has only been accessible through a feature flag since its introduction. You have to open chrome://flags in your browser and search for #enable-force-dark to enable it, and toggling it requires restarting Chrome.
The forced dark mode was first introduced in 2019, with the release of Chrome 78. Google later updated the flag to continue working until Chrome 85, then in 2020 it was extended to Chrome 90. It was extended two more times in 2022, with Chrome developers saying “This is one of the most popular flags and there is active work to implement a real feature for it (auto dark theme).” The most recent update was in 2023, with a commit message explaining, “This flag is one of the more popular flags and will be difficult to remove. Usage is slowly falling so lets re-evaluate in a year.”
It’s not clear what happened to Google’s plans for a more official version of forced dark mode. There was an origin trial experiment in 2019 for implementing an automatic dark mode with an opt-out switch for websites, but it ended in 2022 without a finalized proposal. Since automatic dark mode can never work perfectly, and more sites now have a native dark mode option, it’s possible Google isn’t interested in trying to make it work.
The forced dark mode feature flag is currently set to expire for Chrome 123, which means this will be the last version with the feature available, unless it’s extended again. Google does sometimes extend flags again after they expire, but not often, and the lack of progress over the past two years isn’t a positive sign.
Samsung Browser on Android devices (and now Windows PCs) still has a forced dark theme option, and there are some browser extensions that offer similar functionality. Still, it would have been great to see the Chrome flag become a full-fledged feature, especially with Google itself saying last year that it was popular.
How to Update Google Chrome
Chrome will automatically install the update on your computer, phone, or tablet when it’s available. To immediately check for and install any available updates, click the three-dot menu icon and click Help > About Google Chrome.
Source: Chrome for Developers, Chrome flags
