Udemy Dark Mode: How to Study on Udemy With a Dark Theme on Web and Mobile
A three-hour course after work is a lot of screen time. Here's what Udemy offers natively, where it stops, and how to get a dark Udemy website in Chrome with the free Dark Mode extension.
By Ivan Charad Updated First published 5 min read
Quick answer
Udemy dark mode is listed as a feature of the Udemy app for iPhone and Android. On the website, a darker course player is being tested for some accounts, but browsing pages such as search, course pages and My learning stay light. In Chrome, install the free Dark Mode extension, open udemy.com and press Alt+Shift+D.
Does Udemy have a dark mode?
Yes, but not everywhere. Udemy's App Store listing describes the mobile app's feature as "Dark mode: Stay focused in any lighting environment". Udemy doesn't publish step-by-step instructions for it, so if you don't see a theme option in the app's account settings, check whether the app follows your phone's system appearance.
On the website the picture is mixed. Udemy has been rolling out a rebuilt course-taking experience as a pilot, and its help center FAQ for that experience includes the question "Can I switch the experience to light mode?", which tells you the new player can be dark for some learners. It isn't on every account yet, and it doesn't cover the rest of udemy.com: the homepage, search results, course landing pages, your cart and My learning are still bright white. So for a consistent Udemy dark mode in a desktop browser, the practical route is an extension. The Dark Mode extension for Chrome darkens every Udemy page, including lecture text, quizzes, the Q&A tab and course notes.
Why make Udemy dark if the video player is already black?
Video sits in a dark frame, but a lot of a course isn't video. Article lectures, coding exercises, quizzes, the curriculum sidebar, Q&A threads and the notes panel are all text on a light background. When you pause a lecture at night to read an answer or a resource list, that's when the white page hits. Darkening the whole site keeps the lecture area and everything around it at the same low brightness.
How to enable dark mode on Udemy in Chrome
These steps turn on Udemy dark mode with the free Dark Mode extension and take about a minute.
- 1
Install the Dark Mode extension
Open Dark Mode in the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome. It also works in Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi and Yandex Browser.
- 2
Open Udemy
Go to udemy.com, sign in and open a course from My learning, or any page you want to read.
- 3
Turn on dark mode
Click the Dark Mode icon and flip the big On/Off switch, or press Alt+Shift+D (⌥⇧D on a Mac). The white background goes dark straight away.
- 4
Tune it for long lectures
Lower Brightness a little and add some Sepia for article lectures. Tick Only for to keep these values for Udemy alone.
- 5
Automate study hours (optional)
Set active hours or choose Activate after sunset at location, so Udemy goes dark when your evening study session starts. Use system color scheme follows your computer's dark mode instead.
Turn on Udemy dark mode now
Free Chrome extension · works on every website · no account needed.
Other ways to get a dark Udemy
If you'd rather not install an extension, these options get you part of the way to Udemy dark mode:
- The Udemy mobile app. The app lists dark mode as a feature, so for studying on a phone or tablet it's the simplest choice.
- The new web course player. If your account is in Udemy's pilot, the course-taking view may already be dark. Everything outside the player stays light.
- Chrome's dark theme. Choosing Dark under Customize Chrome → Appearance darkens the toolbar, tabs and menus. Chrome Help describes it as a theme for the browser, not for the pages you visit, so udemy.com stays white.
- Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents. This experimental
chrome://flagsoption forces a dark rendering onto every site. It's all-or-nothing, with no per-site exceptions or sliders, and course images and diagrams can come out inverted.
Udemy dark mode not working? Quick fixes
- Udemy stays white. Check that the main switch is on, then press Alt+Shift+A to add or remove udemy.com from your site list. Depending on whether the list is set to "Invert listed only" or "Not invert listed", Udemy may simply be excluded.
- Slides, code screenshots or diagrams in lectures look odd. Switch the theme generation mode to Filter+, which preserves color saturation, or back to Dynamic.
- Pages feel slow on an older laptop. Try the Static mode, which generates a simple, fast theme.
- The Chrome Web Store page or a
chrome://page stays light. Those pages are protected by the browser and can't be changed by any extension.
How to switch Udemy back to light mode
Click the extension icon and flip the switch off, or press Alt+Shift+D again. To keep other sites dark but Udemy light, use the per-site button ("Change mode on current site") or press Alt+Shift+A while Udemy is open. In the new course player, Udemy's help center covers switching that experience to light mode.
Why use dark mode on Udemy?
Evening study sessions
Udemy dark mode keeps lecture pages, quizzes and Q&A at a comfortable brightness when you study after work in a dim room.
Coding courses
If your editor is already dark, a dark Udemy tab removes the glare of switching back and forth between lecture and code.
Article lectures and notes
Text-heavy lessons and your course notes are easier to read for long stretches on a softer, darker page.
Less glare between tabs
No more bright flash when you jump from a dark video frame to a white curriculum list or resource page.
Best Dark Mode settings for Udemy
Brightness and contrast
Start with the defaults. Lower Brightness slightly late at night and raise Contrast if small captions or timestamps look faint.
Sepia for reading
A touch of Sepia warms the dark page and makes long article lectures gentler on the eyes.
Filter+ for visual courses
Design, photo and data courses lean on images. Filter+ preserves color saturation, so screenshots keep their colors.
Only for Udemy
Tick "Only for" to save a Udemy-specific look while other sites keep your global settings.
Font and text stroke
Use "Select a font" to swap in a font you find easier to read, or Text stroke to make thin text bolder.
Two hotkeys
Alt+Shift+D toggles dark mode and Alt+Shift+A adds or removes the current site. Change them at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.
Frequently asked questions
Does Udemy have dark mode on the website?
Only partly. Udemy is piloting a new course player that can be dark for some accounts, but the rest of udemy.com is light. The free Dark Mode extension makes the whole website dark in Chrome.
How do I turn on dark mode in the Udemy app?
Udemy lists dark mode as an app feature but doesn't publish exact steps. Look in the app's account settings for a theme option. If there isn't one, switch your phone to its dark appearance, since many apps follow the system setting.
Does the Dark Mode extension work in the Udemy app?
No. The extension is for desktop Chrome and other Chromium browsers, so it doesn't change the Android or iOS apps.
Will dark mode change Udemy course videos?
Udemy videos already play in a dark frame, so dark mode is mostly about the text around them. If lecture images or the player area look odd, switch the theme generation mode to Filter+ or Dynamic.
Is the Dark Mode extension free?
Yes. The Free plan includes everything in this guide: the switch, sliders, site list, schedule and hotkeys. An optional Pro plan costs $3/month or $20 lifetime; see pricing.
Can I make other learning sites dark too?
Yes, the extension works on almost any site you open in Chrome. See our Coursera dark mode guide and Google Classroom dark mode guide.
The bottom line
Udemy dark mode is a feature of the mobile app, and a darker course player is being tested on the web for some learners. For a dark udemy.com on every page, add the free Dark Mode extension to Chrome and press Alt+Shift+D.