Microsoft adds a Dark Mode to Outlook.com

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Outlook hangs

A Dark Mode is something thousands of Outlook.com users have requested for a while now. Thousands of users voted for an Outlook.com Dark Mode setting (or theme) on the UserVoice feedback forum. Microsoft promised it would add that option to its email app. Now the company has duly confirmed that a Dark Mode has arrived on Outlook.com!

Philip at Outlook confirmed the new Outlook.com Dark Mode on the UserVoice feedback forum. There he stated:

It is my greatest pleasure to share this piece of news with you: Dark Mode is here, on the new Outlook.comâ€Ĥ Dark Mode is available on the new Outlook.com experience (formerly known as the Outlook.com Beta experience) only.

Note that Outlook.com’s Dark Mode is not a theme. As such, the Dark Mode is a separate toggle that you can switch on or off. Philip at Outlook stated that the new Dark Mode is compatible with just the blue theme at the moment.

Outlook.com beta users can switch on the new Dark Mode by clicking the gear icon at the top right of the web app. That opens the Quick settings bar, which includes a Dark mode option just under the themes. Users select the blue theme and then toggle the Dark mode setting on.

Thus, Outlook.com is the latest app to include a Dark Mode. Windows 10, iTunes, Groove Music, Edge, macOS Mojave, Skype and OSX are some of the software that include Dark Mode settings or themes. This webpage includes a list of 71 web apps and software that incorporate a dark theme or mode. That site also lists a further 61 iOS apps with a dark theme or option.

So, software and web apps are certainly getting darker. Aside from Outlook.com, Microsoft has also added new dark themes to its To-Do app and File Explorer in Windows Insider previews. Thus, dark customization options are becoming increasingly commonplace in both desktop software and web apps.