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Feature request: Grey Mode
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Description

Background

Previously, the iOS app's Dark Mode used a grey background that offered lower contrast. This approach is widely adopted in reading-focused applications such as Instapaper and in Safari’s Reader Mode, precisely because it reduces eye strain and supports long-form reading. From a logical standpoint, the recent changes to Dark Mode do not make much sense, since Dark Mode and Black Mode now appear almost identical. The current Dark Mode background is so close to pure black that it duplicates the same visual experience.

Feature summary (what you would like to be able to do and where):

  • Add a lower-contrast Grey mode or Grey theme into the Apps

Use case(s) (list the steps that you performed to discover that problem, and describe the actual underlying problem which you want to solve. Do not describe only a solution):

  • I read multiple articles every day, and a lower contrast background makes reading easier. The high-contrast black background is uncomfortable and strains the eyes.

Benefits (why should this be implemented?):

  • The earlier version of Dark Mode significantly improved my productivity. I have also discussed this change on Reddit, where many users voiced that they, too, preferred the previous version of Dark Mode.

Current "Dark" mode

IMG_9267.jpeg (2×1 px, 741 KB)

Event Timeline

Hi @Dbrant, in light of the work being done in T384832 and all the other work you've done around dark mode issues, should we be doing extra work to match the grey tokens? Or is this expected? Thanks!

Hi @Dbrant, in light of the work being done in T384832 and all the other work you've done around dark mode issues, should we be doing extra work to match the grey tokens? Or is this expected? Thanks!

This is expected.
Just for maximal clarity, the modes are called Dark and Black. (there is no Grey mode or grey tokens)

  • Dark mode has a dark but not-quite-black background, as seen in the screenshot above (it may appear "black", perhaps depending on the contrast of your display, but it's not). This background was updated a while ago to match the color defined in Codex, which was agreed upon by Design. (the color is indeed slightly darker than it used to be, but the goal was to be consistent with Codex, and therefore with mobile web's and Android's presentation of dark mode.)
  • Black mode has a completely black background.

Hi @Dbrant thank you for your response. I would like to leave some feedback for the record. From a logical standpoint, the recent changes to Dark Mode do not make much sense, since Dark Mode and Black Mode now appear almost identical. The current Dark Mode background is so close to pure black that it duplicates the same visual experience.

Previously, Dark Mode used a grey background that offered lower contrast, which in turn made reading easier. This approach is widely adopted in reading-focused applications such as Instapaper and in Safari’s Reader Mode, precisely because it reduces eye strain and supports long-form reading.

Could this decision be reconsidered? As a voluntary editor of Wikipedia, I read multiple articles every day, and the earlier version of Dark Mode significantly improved my productivity. I have also discussed this change on Reddit, where many users voiced that they, too, preferred the previous version of Dark Mode.

HNordeenWMF subscribed.

Hi @Ominous_Dream, thanks for your feedback here on usability. It seems like neither "dark" nor "black" mode are serving your purposes any more, and you are looking for an option with lower contrast. If it's ok by you, I'm going to update this ticket to be a feature request for a grey theme, instead of a bug report. I'll share it with our designers that are working to align the theming across platforms.

Hi @HNordeenWMF , that’s fine. Thank your response.

HNordeenWMF renamed this task from Grey Mode Displays Black Background Instead of Grey on Wikipedia iOS App (v7.8.1) to Feature request: Grey Mode.Sep 30 2025, 9:55 PM
HNordeenWMF triaged this task as Low priority.
HNordeenWMF updated the task description. (Show Details)

No problem - I updated the task structure, please feel free to add/edit as you wish.