[Fix] Disable Forced Dark Theme Mode in Google Chrome in Windows 10

SUMMARY: If Google Chrome suddenly turned Dark and you are forced to use Google Chrome in Dark Mode and you want to get rid of this new Dark Mode in Chrome, this tutorial will help you. Also if you want to use built-in Dark Mode in Windows 10 but don’t want to apply Dark Mode automatically to Google Chrome, this tutorial will also help you.

PROBLEM SYMPTOM:

You upgraded to new version of Google Chrome in Windows 10 operating system and you noticed that suddenly Google Chrome started using new Dark Mode or Dark Theme in its UI (User Interface). The titlebar, toolbar, menus and everything else automatically turned dark or Black without your permission as shown in following screenshot:

You didn’t like the dark mode and you tried to disable it using Chrome Settings but unfortunately you didn’t find any option to turn off the forced dark mode.

You also looked into Chrome://flags page but couldn’t find any preference to get rid of the dark mode.

Now you are stuck and forced to use Chrome in Dark Mode and you have no way left to disable it.

Finally you found out the culprit. You are using Dark app mode in Windows 10 to use File Explorer and other UWP apps in Dark Mode and the new version of Google Chrome is respecting the built-in dark app mode of Windows 10 and that’s why Chrome is also using its new Dark Mode UI in Windows 10.

If you disable Dark app mode in Windows 10 using Settings -> Personalization -> Colors page, it also disables Dark Mode in Google Chrome web browser.

Now the problem is you want to use Dark Mode in Windows 10 but don’t want to use the new Dark Mode in Google Chrome browser and there is no way to do this. You can either have Dark Mode in both Windows 10 and Google Chrome or in none of them.

There is no way to keep and use Dark Mode in Windows 10 only and at the same time use the good old Light Mode or Light Theme in Google Chrome browser.

PROBLEM SOLUTION:

Don’t worry! Although Google Chrome doesn’t provide any setting or option to disable Dark Mode, it’s still possible to turn off the Dark Mode in Chrome using a command-line parameter.

SOLUTION 1:

The easiest solution to fix forced Dark Mode problem in Google Chrome is to disable Dark Mode in Windows 10 operating system. Once you disable Dark Mode in Windows 10, it’ll also automatically disable Dark Mode in Google Chrome and Chrome will start using previous Light Theme.

You can learn how to enable or disable Dark Mode in Windows 10 using following tutorial:

[Tip] Enable Dark or Light Theme Modes in Windows 10

SOLUTION 2:

But there might be many people who want to use Dark Mode in Windows 10 but don’t want to use Dark Mode in Google Chrome browser.

There is also a working solution or workaround for this issue. With the help of following method you can keep Dark Mode enabled in Windows 10 but force Google Chrome to use Light Theme as the older versions of Chrome used to do.

To keep Dark Mode in Windows 10 and force Google Chrome to NOT use Dark Mode in its UI, you’ll need to modify Chrome shortcut’s Properties.

Following screenshot shows Dark Mode enabled in Windows 10 but Google Chrome not using Dark Mode:

Following steps will help you in disabling forced Dark Mode in Google Chrome but keep Dark Mode enabled in Windows 10:

1. Right-click on Chrome shortcut on Desktop and select Properties option. If Chrome shortcut is pinned to Taskbar, right-click on it and again right-click on Google Chrome option present on the jumplist and select Properties option.

If you launch Google Chrome from Start Menu, copy and paste following string in RUN dialog box and press Enter key:

It’ll open Programs folder in File Explorer which contains Google Chrome shortcut. Right-click on it and select Properties option.

2. Once you open Chrome properties box, append following string at the end of the text string present in Target field:

So the Target field test string will change to following:

Here we are using the disable-features command-line parameter supported by Chrome to tell Chrome not use DarkMode feature.

3. Apply the changes and now whenever you’ll launch Google Chrome using the shortcut, it’ll always launch in Light Theme Mode.

Now you are free to use Dark Mode in Windows 10 only and Google Chrome will stop following Windows 10’s app mode. Google Chrome will keep using its classic Light Theme.

PS: If you want to re-enable the new dark theme mode in Chrome in future, delete the “–disable-features=DarkMode” string from Target field again and save the changes.

PS: If you are already using another “–disable-features” parameter in Google Chrome shortcut, following article will help you in using more than one “–disable-features” parameter in Chrome shortcut’s properties:

[Tip] How to Use Multiple “–Disable-Features” Parameters in Google Chrome Shortcut

Big thanks to our reader “Yunis” for sharing this tip…

Also Check:

[Fix] Disable Forced Dark Theme Mode in Mozilla Firefox in Windows 10

[Tip] How to Enable Built-in Dark Theme Mode in Google Chrome

[Tip] Enable / Disable Dark Mode or Theme in Microsoft Edge Browser

[Tip] How to Enable Dark Mode in Chrome on Android Mobile Phones

[Tip] Enable Dark Mode UI on All Websites in Chrome on Android Mobile Phones

[Tip] Enable Dark Theme Mode on All Websites in Google Chrome