Dark mode

From Learn, the They Sent It email marketing encyclopedia · First edition · Updated November 13, 2026

Dark mode swaps light backgrounds for dark ones. Some email apps also recolor the email. In our one-iPhone Gmail test, code colors changed but images did not, so matching backgrounds split.^[9]

Since September 2026 the Gmail app on iOS and Android is reported to honor one tag that stops this for Google accounts: <meta name="color-scheme" content="light only">.^[1] Outlook and other accounts in the Gmail app do not support it.^[3] For step-by-step fixes, see How to fix dark mode in email.

How forced dark mode works

Try it: turn on dark mode, then add the tag or the gradient fallback.

HTML

<meta name="color-scheme" content="light only">
<table width="100%" style="background-color:#ffffff;">
  <tr>
    <td style="padding:0;">
      <img src="logo.jpg" alt="Acme Co." width="200">
    </td>
    <td style="background-color:#f4d03f;
               background-image:linear-gradient(#f4d03f,#f4d03f);">
      <img src="icon.png" alt="Instagram" width="28">
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td colspan="2" style="color:#222222;">
      Thanks for being here.
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

Light mode: the email shows as designed.A simulation of what we saw in the Gmail app on one iPhone, not a rendering by any email app.

An email's colors come from code or from image pixels. Forced dark mode replaces the code colors: backgrounds, text and button fills.

In our Gmail test on one iPhone, matching image and code backgrounds split apart and dark icons on transparent backgrounds vanished. Dark text turned light; white text turned near black.^[9] The Android app uses a different method, and the Email Markup Consortium reports inverted icons without naming the app.^[1]

Three ways an app handles it

No change: Gmail on the web shows the email as sent. Litmus reports the same for Yahoo Mail and AOL.^[7]
Partial restyling: only some colors change, usually light backgrounds and dark text. Outlook.com works this way,^[5] and Litmus lists Outlook's apps the same.^[7]
Full inversion: code colors flip by lightness. The Gmail app did this on our test iPhone.^[9]

Apps such as Apple Mail can also use dark styles the email provides. The color-scheme property is defined in CSS; the matching meta tag is in the HTML Standard.^[2]

Email app by email app

What each app does in dark mode, as reported (sources tested between 2019 and 2026)
Email app	What it does	Supports light only	What works instead
Gmail app for iOS, Google accounts	Flips code colors by lightness (our test)	Yes, since September 2026	Not needed when the tag is present
Gmail app for Android, Google accounts	Darkens colors with a different method	Yes, since September 2026	Not needed when the tag is present
Gmail app with a Yahoo, Outlook or other account	Same restyling; style blocks are not supported	No	No reliable fix
Gmail on the web	Shows the email as sent	Not supported, and not needed	None needed
Apple Mail on the Mac	Uses your own dark styles if the email declares them	Yes	Write prefers-color-scheme styles
Apple Mail on iPhone and iPad	Uses your own dark styles if the email declares them	Untested since iOS 12.4	Write prefers-color-scheme styles
Outlook.com and Outlook for iOS, Android and Mac	Rewrites colors it judges too light or too dark	No	Your own dark styles, plus Outlook selectors
Classic Outlook for Windows	Recolors when Office uses a dark theme	No	Limited workarounds for white or black text
Yahoo Mail and AOL	Reported to make no color changes	No (Can I Email, tested 2023)	None needed
Samsung Email	Supports dark styles written by the email	No (Can I Email)	Write prefers-color-scheme styles; test on a device

Gmail rows: the Consortium and our one-iPhone test. Tag support: Can I Email. Other rows: the sources below. Test current app versions on a real device.

The light only opt-out

Google marked its Gmail dark theme ticket fixed on August 31, 2026. The Consortium reported Android and iOS support on September 21.^[1]

<meta name="color-scheme" content="light only">

Use exactly light only. It turns forced dark mode off; it does not add dark styles.^[3]
Google accounts only. Yahoo or Outlook addresses in the Gmail app are still restyled.^[1]
Head or body. In our test on one device and account, the tag worked in both. The head is the documented place.^[9]
Use it where designs break. It overrides readers who chose dark mode, so the Consortium advises against adding it to every template.^[1]

Writing your own dark styles

Apple Mail, Outlook.com, Outlook's apps and Samsung Email apply styles inside @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark).^[4] With light only, Apple Mail on the Mac skips them. To keep both, the Consortium suggests adding :root { color-scheme: light dark; } to the CSS.^[1]

When the tag is not supported

Outlook.com: rewritten text gets data-ogsc, rewritten backgrounds get data-ogsb. Wrap the block in an element Outlook recolors, then restore the color with an [data-ogsb] rule. The how-to has the code.^[5]
Gradient backgrounds: add background-image: linear-gradient(#f4d03f, #f4d03f) beside the background color. In our one-iPhone Gmail test it kept the background, but text still flipped. Untested in Outlook and other accounts.^[9]
Classic Outlook for Windows: no dark media queries.^[4] Limited workarounds keep white or black text, for example inside VML shapes (Outlook's own drawing code).^[8]
Blend modes: a 2021 technique keeps white text white in Gmail on iPhone. Not needed with light only; it fails for other accounts.^[6]

Logos and images

In our test, image colors held but dark logos on transparent backgrounds disappeared. A solid background baked into the image, or a thin light outline, fixed them. Keep each illustration in one image: two halves side by side can drift apart on phones.

What brands send

Of 73,545 brands' latest October emails, 0.8% carried exactly light only and 96.8% carried none of the four dark mode signals we searched for.^[10] Full figures, method and CSV: Dark mode code in brand email, October 2026.

Tu matais quoi là ? 👀 - email from Funky Bloom — October 2026 emails with the light only tag, shown as sent.

Et si la taille ne va pas ? On échange. - email from Fincut — October 2026 emails with the light only tag, shown as sent.

Common mistakes

Trusting light previews. Most platform previews show light mode. Test on a real phone in dark mode.
Expecting every app to support the tag. It covers the Gmail app for Google accounts and Apple Mail on the Mac. Outlook needs the fallbacks.
Replacing a saved template's HTML through an API. In our Klaviyo experience this discarded drag-and-drop content. Add the tag in the editor instead.

History

2021: the blend-mode technique for white text in the Gmail app on iPhone.^[6]
August 31, 2026: Google marks the Gmail dark theme ticket fixed.^[1]
September 21, 2026: the Consortium reports light only working on Android and iOS.
November 12, 2026: our one-iPhone test matches, in the head and the body.^[9]

References

First edition, November 13, 2026, by Conner Baker. Shortened the same day. Found an error? Tell us.