Short answer: Apple Mail has no dark mode switch of its own. It follows your Mac: open System Settings, click Appearance and choose Dark (or Auto to switch at night). Mail then shows messages on a dark background too. If you want Mail dark but emails white, go to Mail > Settings > Viewing and turn off Use dark backgrounds for messages, or flip a single email with View > Message > Show with Light Background. On iPhone and iPad, it's Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark.
These steps are for macOS 27 and also apply to macOS Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15 and Sonoma 14. The menu names haven't changed in years, so if you're a version or two behind, you'll find everything in the same place.
How to turn on dark mode in Apple Mail on a Mac
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
- Click Appearance in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to find it.
- Select Dark. Mail, the menu bar, the Dock and other built-in apps switch right away.
Pick Auto instead if you want light mode during the day and dark mode at night. Apple says Auto follows your Night Shift schedule, or sunrise and sunset if you haven't set one, and it won't switch while you're actively using the Mac (it waits until the Mac has been idle for at least a minute).
For a quicker toggle, use Control Center: click the Control Center icon in the menu bar, click the button next to Display, then click Dark Mode.
Keep Mail dark but show emails on a light background
This is the setting most people are actually looking for. Some emails, especially newsletters with images and colored layouts, read better on white. Mail lets you keep the app dark and still read messages on a light background:
- In Mail, choose Mail > Settings, then click Viewing.
- Deselect Use dark backgrounds for messages.
Now the sidebar, toolbar and message list stay dark, while the email you're reading (and new emails you write) appear on a light background. This checkbox only shows up when your Mac's appearance is set to Dark.
If you'd rather keep dark backgrounds and switch only now and then, leave the checkbox on and open the email that looks wrong. Choose View > Message > Show with Light Background. To go back, choose View > Message > Show with Dark Background.
| Mac appearance | Use dark backgrounds for messages | What you see in Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Not shown | Light app, light messages |
| Dark | On (default) | Dark app, dark message backgrounds |
| Dark | Off | Dark app, light message backgrounds |
Can you use dark mode only in Apple Mail?
Not fully. Mail's settings have no appearance option for the app itself, so you can't run a dark Mail inside a light macOS. The Viewing checkbox above works the other way round: dark app, light emails. If you want dark Mail and a light everything else, the closest you'll get is Auto, or toggling Dark Mode from Control Center when you open Mail.
While you're in Appearance settings, two other options change how Mail looks: Sidebar icon size (which also changes the text size in Mail's sidebar) and the accent and text highlight colors. For bigger text in the message list or in emails, see our guide to changing fonts in Mac Mail.
Why some emails still look bright in dark mode
Mail can darken plain emails easily, but many marketing emails and newsletters are built in HTML with their own background colors, images and logos. Those often stay mostly white, or come out with odd contrast, because the sender's design overrides the app. That isn't a setting you've got wrong. If one email is hard to read, switch it with View > Message > Show with Light Background.
If images in emails don't load at all, that's a different problem: see Mac Mail not showing images.
Dark mode in Mail on iPhone and iPad
Mail on iPhone and iPad also follows the system setting:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Select Dark to turn dark mode on, or Light to turn it off.
To switch automatically, turn on Automatic, tap Options and choose Sunset to Sunrise or Custom Schedule. You can also open Control Center, touch and hold the brightness control and tap the Dark Mode button.
Apple's iPhone and iPad guides describe dark mode only as a system-wide setting. Unlike the Mac, there's no documented Mail option to keep messages on a light background, so if an email is hard to read on your phone, switching the whole device to Light is the documented fix.
If you want more than Mail offers
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. Mail's dark mode is fine for reading. If what you really want is a calmer inbox, an app that sorts mail for you can help more than a darker screen. Canary Mail is an email app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android that works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and other IMAP accounts. The free plan covers unlimited accounts on 2 devices with AI inbox sorting. The Growth plan ($36 a year) adds AI writing and summaries, read receipts, send later and a calendar on up to 5 devices. Tracker blocking is on by default, and your email isn't used to train AI. More than 2 million people use it, and Apple has featured it on the App Store and the Mac App Store.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on dark mode in Apple Mail?
On a Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings > Appearance and select Dark. Mail follows the system setting. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Dark.
How do I change my email background from dark to light?
On a Mac, choose Mail > Settings > Viewing and deselect Use dark backgrounds for messages. For one email only, choose View > Message > Show with Light Background. The rest of Mail stays dark either way.
How do I turn off dark mode in Mail on my iPhone?
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Light. If Automatic is on, the phone will switch back to dark on its schedule, so turn Automatic off too.
Can I make only Apple Mail dark?
No. Mail has no app-only appearance setting on Mac or iPhone. On a Mac you can do the reverse: keep the system dark and show emails on a light background.
Why is Use dark backgrounds for messages missing?
Apple says the checkbox appears only when your Mac's appearance is set to Dark. Switch Appearance to Dark in System Settings and it shows up under Mail > Settings > Viewing.
More Mac Mail how-tos
- Customizing the Apple Mail toolbar
- Color coding emails in Mac Mail
- Smart Mailboxes in Mac Mail
- How to snooze emails in Apple Mail
- Changing fonts in Mac Mail
- Customizing the Apple Mail sidebar
Other Mac Mail fixes
- Mac Mail not opening or freezing
- Mac Mail keeps crashing
- Mac Mail not sending emails
- Messages stuck in the Outbox
- Mac Mail not receiving emails
- Mac Mail inbox not updating
- Mac Mail can't connect to the server
- "Unable to verify account name or password"
- Mac Mail not showing attachments
- Mac Mail not showing images
- Mac Mail search not working
Sources
- Apple Mac User Guide (macOS 27): Use a light or dark appearance
- Apple Mac User Guide (macOS 27): Change Appearance settings
- Apple Mail User Guide (macOS 27): Change Viewing settings
- Apple iPhone User Guide (iOS 27): Adjust the screen brightness and color
- Apple iPad User Guide: Adjust the screen brightness and color