Google Search on desktop goes dark, theme finally rolls out to everyone

The dark theme on the desktop had been in testing for months.

Update, Sept 9 (8:45 p.m. ET): Rolling out to all users

What you need to know

• Google is finally starting to roll out a dark theme for Search on Windows 10 and macOS devices.
• Google had been testing the dark theme on Search for desktop users since late last year.
• You can easily turn dark mode on and off on the web using the toggle in the top right corner.

After testing it for months, Google is finally starting to roll out a dark theme for Search on desktop. As spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, the Google Search dark theme is slowly making its way to users on Windows 10 and macOS platforms.

Google ‘dark theme’ on desktop is rolling out pic.twitter.com/fE6ODyQ9Xt

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) May 12, 2021

Google had started testing a dark theme on the web late last year, a few months after it introduced a dark theme for Search on Android. The A/B testing was expanded to a slightly larger group of users in February this year.

As can be seen in the screenshots above, you will be able to enable dark theme on your desktop browser after you receive the “Dark theme is now available” notification. Fortunately, the dark theme isn’t limited to Google’s own Chrome browser. The dark theme also works with popular third-party web browsers such as Mozilla’s Firefox and Microsoft’s Edge. To quickly turn the dark theme on and off, all you need to is click on the toggle in the top right corner of the browser.

Even though a wider rollout has finally started, you should keep in mind that it might take at least a few weeks for the feature to reach all users. Unlike Google’s best Android apps, which received a dark mode months back, the desktop versions of the majority of its popular products still do not offer the option.

Update, Sept 9 (8:45 p.m. ET) ― Dark Mode is rolling out to everyone

While Google started widely rolling out a Dark theme for its web search page, the feature apparently did not reach everyone. On Thursday, a Google product manager announced that it is now available for everyone and that users should see the feature arrive “over the next few weeks.”

To enable the Dark theme, click the Settings button at the top or bottom right of the Search page. Select Appearance and choose between the available options to enable Dark theme.

According to the Google employee, the Dark theme applies to Search pages including the homepage, results, settings, and more.