How to read PDFs in dark mode on a Mac
Turn bright white PDF pages dark for night reading on a Mac with Preview's own dark appearance setting, or invert the screen colours as a fallback.
The problem
Your Mac is in dark mode, but every PDF still opens as a glowing white page that lights up the room.
Can Preview show PDFs in dark mode?
Yes. With a PDF open, choose View > Use Dark Appearance for PDF. The pages turn dark with light text; choose it again to turn it off. The command is in Preview's View menu on current macOS, though many guides still say Preview has no dark mode for pages.
Does dark mode change the PDF file?
No. It only changes how the pages are shown on your screen. The file, and how it prints or looks on anyone else's Mac, stays the same.
Why do photos look wrong in dark mode?
Dark appearance changes colours across the page, photos and charts included. Turn it off for pages where colour matters.
How do I make every app's pages dark?
System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Invert colours inverts the whole screen. It works in any app, but photos look strange. For gentler evenings without inverting anything, System Settings > Displays > Night Shift warms the screen's colours.
Our take
Use Night Shift and a lower brightness before dark pages. Light text on black is harder to read for long passages than dark text on a warm, dim page, and keeping the page as it is means charts and photos still mean what they say.
In Simply PDF
Dark mode for reading is free in Simply PDF, along with search and thumbnails.
Questions
Can Preview show PDFs in dark mode?
Yes. Choose View > Use Dark Appearance for PDF.
Does dark mode change the PDF file?
No. It only changes how the pages are shown on your screen.