Enabling dark theme in a Google Maps Android app is fairly easy. We’ll show you how to do it one step at a time down below. Do note that some screenshots are also included, so that you may follow along. You have more than one option for setting dark mode here, as is the case with a number of other Google apps. So, let’s get started.
How to enable dark mode in Google Maps on Android
The first thing you’ll need to do is open Google Maps on your phone. Once you’ve done that, tap your profile picture in the top-right corner, on the main display of the app.
A pop-up menu will open, and in it, you’ll see quite a few options. What we’re looking for here are the ‘Settings’, which you’ll notice towards the bottom of that menu.
In the settings menu, you’ll spot even more options. The one we’re after is, of course, ‘Theme’. As you can see below it, my current setting now is ‘light theme’. Tap that option.
You’ll notice that my current setting is “Always in light theme”, as in regardless of what the system setting is. You have two options to switch here. If your system setting is dark mode, you can choose the “Same as device theme” option. That will make the app automatically follow your system setting. So, if you switch it to a light theme, the app will follow, the same goes for the dark theme. If you’d like Google Maps to always be dark, simply choose the “Always in dark theme” option.
Once you’ve decided what you want to do, tap the ‘Save’ option down below. I went with the “Same as device theme” for the purpose of this tutorial, as my system is already set to the dark theme.
The moment you confirm you’ll be thrown back into the settings menu, but everything will be in dark mode. If you return back to the main display of Google Maps, this is what it will look like (image below).
