Dark theme now available on Confluence mobile apps

[#1]

Using Dark theme on the Confluence Cloud mobile apps

Dark theme makes working in Confluence easier on your eyes by using a darker, higher-contrast color theme.

Don’t have the mobile app? Download it for iOS or Android now to try out dark theme for yourself.

When using the Confluence mobile apps, you can turn on dark theme from your Account settings. Set the app individually with its own theme or sync it to match with your operating system (OS) settings on Android and iOS.

Enabling dark theme:

• Check what version of the app you are on. You can so do by checking if there is an update waiting for you in the App store/Play store, or by scrolling to the bottom of your Account settings. Dark theme is supported on the following versions and above:

  • iOS: 2.73 +

  • Android: 1.85 +

• Click on your profile picture in the top-left of the app to open Account settings

• Select Theme

• Select one of the 3 options:

  • Light: Use your app in light theme, recommended if you mostly work on Confluence mobile during the daytime

  • Dark: Use your app in dark theme, recommended if you want to reduce eye strain or are working in low-light conditions

  • System: Sync dark theme with your OS settings, recommended if your device supports automatic switching of theme based on light conditions, battery saver mode, and/or time of day

Content pops on every page

Before we created a dark theme, we set out to conduct research in order to provide the best (and most visually-pleasing) experience possible.

We tweaked the color palette so the content you are viewing on a page stands out more. We are now using a darker color palette for all screens, views, menus, and controls, making it easier on your eyes to focus on key parts of the page, like when looking at tables, panels, or comments.

An enjoyable experience wasn’t our only mission. We wanted to make sure it is accessible to all users, including those with low vision or sensitivity to bright light. We did this by following accessibility standards and adopting WCAG’s AA and 4.5:1 contrast ratios.

Finally, if you’re in it for appearances, it just looks cool, and makes a refreshing change from our usual all white interface. It’s always good to have more options.

Work bleeds into the evening hours now

Working outside of the office has given rise to new productivity habits. One that we have observed amongst our user base is an increase in Confluence mobile app usage after 5pm. Our users also told us that they are facing increased eye strain nowadays due to increased screen time from more virtual meetings and online collaboration.

Dark theme produces less glare when used in the evenings and at night, and makes Confluence mobile more comfortable to use in low light conditions.

When is dark theme coming to web? Dark theme is currently only available on the Confluence Cloud mobile apps. We will evaluate your feedback first before expanding dark theme to other platforms, including web. We always want to ensure we deliver the best experience possible so we are focused on building other new features until we can deliver a seamless web dark theme across all of Confluence, and beyond to Atlassian’s other products.

As always, please share your feedback to help us make Confluence Mobile better for you. You can enable “shake to send feedback” in Account, then, shake your device to share your thoughts on this enhancement.

[Fabienne Gerhard]

I really like it - just had a short look this morning! Awesome 🎉

Could be challenging for some content especially with pics and Screenshots. I want to try out how it's working with tables.

Super interesting and really something to have more than one look at!

[Deleted user]

Eye fatigue is really becoming a problem, so thank you for this! Will the dark mode also be available for the Confluence Cloud app for Mac? I use the Jira Cloud App for Mac, which is dark-mode enabled, and I am absolutely loving it!

[Wei Heng]

@[deleted] glad that this helps you with eye fatigue! The team is monitoring feedback/reactions to Dark Mode on Confluence Cloud mobile before deciding to invest in dark theme support for other platforms. I'll pass along your feedback about this. 

[Joe Etten]

While this is great and all (Really, it is!). What about Dark Mode for Confluence and Jira in the browser?

[Capi _resolution_]

@Joe Ettendepending on the browser, you can get that with add-ons/ components and then exclude which sites or applications you want to exclude (for example include Confluence but exclude Jira). I personally have dark mode in most applications but it somehow doesn't feel right for Atlassian stuff.

Here is what I have setup for firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/darkreader/

Here's something that seems to work for Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/super-dark-mode/nlgphodeccebbcnkgmokeegopgpnjfkc?hl=en-GB

[Francis Tousignant]

Is the Dark Mode available for Confluence Server?

[Toby Johnson]

Hey @Wei Heng ! I've been really happy with the Dark Mode on mobile. Do you have any idea where desktop browser Dark Mode is on your roadmap? Thanks and cheers!

[Daniel Mann]

@Wei HengFound this while searching for a way to toggle dark mode for Confluence in a desktop browser…

While it is nice to have dark mode support on mobile, most of our team's Confluence access — whether editing or reading content — is done in a desktop browser. Some users would like to set dark mode as a preference; others use dark mode for accessibility reasons. This is true in my case: I have visible floaters in my field of view that are highly visible and distracting against white or light-colored backgrounds.

Eye floaters are a common condition (ref. Mayo Clinic article at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/symptoms-causes/syc-20372346), but by no means the only argument in favor of adding a per-user dark mode option to an application or service like Confluence whose core features are editing and reading content.

In addition to providing an accessibility setting, and catering to user preferences for some portion of users (like those who commented above), settings like this also help to modernize web applications in ways that users expect to find as more websites offer features like dark mode toggles and other per-user interface customizations. Browser extensions that modify the appearance of pages are a stopgap, but first-party support enables the service to provide a consistent, supported user experience that matches the design aesthetic and functionality of the site.

Thanks for your consideration!

[Jeff McMurray]

Dark mode for web please :)