Many Android users like me love dark mode. My eyes thank me every time I open an app at night and I’m not blasted with blinding white light.
However, while I like how my screen goes easy on my eyes (especially at night) Android’s Force Dark feature has been quietly messing with how apps look, and brands are not happy about it.
Since Android 10, all versions of Google’s operating system have included a system-level feature that automatically inverts light-coloured apps into dark versions, even if developers haven’t created a proper dark theme version.
In theory, it’s a great feature for users who want consistency and better battery life on OLED screens. Displaying black pixels consumes less power than displaying light pixels and feels less jarring than jumping between light and dark apps. By reducing eye strain for people sensitive to bright light, it also improves accessibility.
However, it can also cause issues.
When aesthetics clash with brand identity
The downside is that this automatic inversion doesn’t understand brand palettes or colour contrast. It dilutes brand colours, weakens visual identity, and flattens the emotional impact designers worked hard to build.
To brands, colour isn’t just decoration, it’s identity. The blues from your banking apps are thought to make them seem trustworthy. The soft green tone of wellness apps supposedly makes them feel calm and safe. With Force Dark, that trustworthy blue might turn into a sickly cyan, and your warm, welcoming green loses its appeal. It can also create contrast issues that make text harder to read or buttons less obvious.
Foundry
According to marketing research on colour perception and user trust, colour plays a major role in brand recognition and emotional response. Android’s forced dark mode dulls or inverts the visual identity that companies spend millions developing.
Dark mode isn’t just about aesthetics. A study from the Nielsen Norman Group shows that many users genuinely prefer dark interfaces at night or in dim settings, but if not designed carefully, readability may become harder.
Unlike iOS, which requires developers to explicitly enable dark mode and define custom colours, Android puts user preferences first, applying dark themes system-wide even if the app wasn’t specifically designed for it. Apple’s guidelines state that apps must opt in and provide custom assets, giving brands control over how their apps look.
Foundry
Google does provide a way out for developers, though. They can opt out or customise how Force Dark affects their apps through the ‘android:forceDarkAllowed’ attribute in their code. For apps which are still vulnerable to unappealing transformations, it means either developers don’t know about this option or haven’t prioritised implementing proper dark mode support to promote their brand identity.
Dark Mode saves battery, too. According to “real-world tests” cited by SamMobile, dark mode can reduce power consumption by up to 60% when displaying black content on OLED screens. With LCD screens, the case is different. The backlight is always on, so there isn’t nearly as much difference in the battery performance.
Can a middle ground be found?
Android users can undoubtedly benefit from Force Dark Mode, especially those with light sensitivity, migraines, or certain visual impairments. However, brands rely on their visual identity to maintain trust with consumers.
For utility apps, that trade-off may be acceptable, but for apps where trust and recognition matter, like banking, healthcare and education, developers should be intentional about dark mode, instead of treating it as optional.
Custom dark themes that maintain brand identity while respecting user preferences should be a priority for all developers. Without it, the forced version sacrifices too much in order to keep things dark.
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