By default, Google Maps is designed to automatically match your system’s display settings. This means that if your smartphone is set to switch to Dark Mode at sunset, Google Maps will automatically swap its bright white map interface for a dark grey and blue color palette as soon as the sun goes down.
While Dark Mode is excellent for reducing eye strain during late-night navigation in a dark car, many users find the dark color scheme harder to read during the day, or simply prefer the high contrast of the classic light map regardless of the time of day. If you want Google Maps to stay bright all the time, you can force the app to ignore your system’s Dark Mode settings.
How to Turn Off Dark Mode in Google Maps (iOS and Android)
The steps to decouple Google Maps from your system theme are nearly identical on both iPhones and Android devices:
- Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone.
- Tap your Profile Picture (or initial) in the top right corner of the search bar.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Scroll down and tap on Dark Mode (or Theme on some Android versions).
- You will see three options: “On,” “Off,” and “Same as device setting” (the default).
- Select Off.
Selecting “Off” will permanently lock Google Maps into the classic Light Theme, even if the rest of your phone switches to Dark Mode at night.
How to Adjust Navigation-Specific Dark Mode
It is important to note that the setting above applies to the general map interface when you are browsing. When you actually start driving (Navigation mode), the app has a separate setting that controls the color scheme of the turn-by-turn interface.
To ensure Navigation mode also stays bright:
- Go back to the main Google Maps Settings page.
- Scroll down and tap on Navigation (or Navigation settings).
- Scroll down to the “Map display” section.
- Under the “Color scheme” options, change the setting from “Automatic” to Day.
With both of these settings adjusted, your Google Maps experience will remain consistently bright and legible, day or night.