Chrome Scraps Plans to Ship Auto Dark Mode for Pages, Flag will remain 'Indefinitely'

Google Chrome has officially scrapped its plans to ship “auto dark mode” for web pages as a standard browser feature. Instead, the experimental flag that enables this feature will remain available indefinitely, due to its overwhelming popularity among Windows users. Google states that removing the flag would be “non-trivial.”

What’s happening?

The “Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents” flag, introduced as an experimental option, aimed to automatically render web pages in a dark theme, even if the website didn’t natively support dark mode. The feature was particularly useful for users who preferred a uniform dark mode experience across all websites, regardless of their design.

Chrome Auto Dark Mode won’t be a Feature, will Stay as a flag Forever

Initially, the flag was designed to test a similar functionality widely used in WebView, a system component for rendering web content in Android apps. In WebView, the feature is available as an API and has been well-received by developers and users alike.

However, Google’s attempt to integrate this functionality directly into Chrome was not successful. The company confirmed in a commit message that there are “no long-term plans to expose this more widely on the web.”

Despite its experimental nature, the “Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents” flag became one of the most popular flags among Chrome users, especially on Windows. Its widespread adoption made it a steady feature for many users who rely on it to reduce eye strain or prefer a darker browsing experience.

Originally, like most experimental flags, this one was set to expire. However, Google has now decided to extend its availability indefinitely, citing: “This is one of the top enabled flags on Windows, which makes removing it non-trivial.”

For now, users can continue to enable the “Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents” flag by navigating to chrome://flags and searching for the feature.

While forcing dark mode on unsupported websites can sometimes lead to rendering issues, the flag remains useful for those who prefer a darker browsing experience. However, it’s worth noting that the flag’s indefinite availability doesn’t mean it will receive updates or improvements. Google’s focus remains on encouraging websites to adopt native dark mode support.

That’s not all. Google is testing third-party cookie blocking in Chrome Incognito, and a new delete browsing data dialog is on the horizon. Additionally, Chrome will soon use AI to change your compromised passwords.