How to activate dark mode in the Google Play Store app

Despite the fact the dark mode arrived system-wide on Android 10 back in September 2019, it's been pretty slow-going for the feature on Google's own first-party apps. The Play Store, one of Google's most essential Android apps, only began receiving dark mode in March, six whole months after Android 10 dropped. If you want to force the Play Store into its new dark mode all the time (understandable — there's a lot of white space in there these days), it's pretty easy. Here's how.

Enable dark mode in the Google Play Store app on Android 10 and later

Get started by opening the Google Play Store app on your favorite Android handset. Click the hamburger menu in the top left corner of your screen. Tap the "Settings" gear, followed by "Theme" under "General." From here, you'll see a popup menu with three different options: "Light," "Dark," and "System default."

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By selecting dark mode, the Play Store theme will override whatever settings you have on your device, forcing the app to appear dark. On the flip side, selecting light mode will force the Play Store to present in its original light version, even if your device has dark mode enabled system-wide. Finally, the "System default" option will tell the Play Store app to mimic your device's theme settings.

Enable dark mode in the Google Play Store app on Android 9 and earlier

Although the system-wide dark mode is only available on Android 10 and newer, users running older OS builds can still activate dark mode in the Google Play Store app. Simply follow the same steps above to reach the theme menu, and select your preferred theme from the popup. Note that the "System default" option won't be available since the system-wide dark mode isn't supported in Android 9 and earlier.