On iOS, did X's background suddenly turn black or white? Explaining how to change the dark mode settings

There have been a growing number of reports from users of the iPhone app for X (Twitter) saying that the background suddenly turned black, or conversely white, even though they did not change any settings.

In this article, we clearly explain why the background in the iOS version of X suddenly changed to black or white, and how to switch the background color back.

Why did X's background suddenly turn black or white?

If the background color in the iOS version of X appears to have suddenly changed, it is because the specification for X's color scheme settings was changed from being controlled within the app to being linked to the iPhone's appearance settings.

Previously, you could switch the background color within the X app, but that setting was removed in an update, and the iPhone's own color scheme settings are now reflected in X.

Has the dark mode setting disappeared from X's iOS app? Explaining how to turn a black background on and off

More and more people are saying that in the iPhone app for X (Twitter), they can no longer find the setting to switch dark mode on and off within the app, or that it seems stuck in either dark mode or light mode. In this article, we will explain in detail whether dark mode and light mode have disappeared from X, and how you can switch the background color.

March 7, 2026

As a result, if dark mode is enabled on the iPhone, X will also use a black background (dark mode), and if the iPhone is in light mode, X will also use a white background (light mode).

It is no longer possible, as before, to make only X use dark mode through the app's settings, or conversely to make only X use light mode.

In addition, on the iPhone, you can not only set dark mode or light mode manually, but also enable a setting that switches automatically depending on the time of day, so if this is turned on, the iPhone's color scheme will change depending on the time, and X's background color may also appear to change on its own accordingly.

In other words, dark mode and light mode in X have not disappeared; rather, the way to switch the color scheme has moved from the app's settings screen to the iPhone's own settings.

Recently, X has repeatedly moved to reduce the number of color scheme options, and in the web client of X, Dim theme was removed from the three available colors: Default, Dim, and Lights out.

Regarding this matter, Nikita Bier, Head of Product at X explained that at present, they do not have the capacity to support more than two colors, and it appears that X is reducing its color scheme settings due to a lack of internal development resources.

X removes Dim theme from web. How to get it back with an extension?

On X (Twitter), Dark mode previously had two dark color schemes: “Lights out” and “Dim,” but Dim has been removed. In this article, we’ll clearly explain how Dim was removed from X and how to restore it.

February 13, 2026

How to switch X's background back to black or white

Although the color scheme setting has been removed from the X iOS app, as mentioned above it now follows the OS setting, so you can change X's color scheme by changing the OS color scheme setting.

1. Open the iPhone Settings app

2. Open [Display & Brightness]

3. Under [Appearance], select [Light] or [Dark]

   • If you want a white background with black text (light mode): Light
   • If you want a black background with white text (dark mode): Dark

How to prevent it from switching on its own

If it is in light mode during the day but changes to dark mode at night, or if the background color changes before you realize it, the iPhone's automatic dark mode switching may be enabled.

You can turn off the feature that automatically switches between dark mode and light mode depending on the time of day by following these steps.

1. Open the iPhone Settings app

2. Open [Display & Brightness]

3. Turn off [Automatic] under [Appearance]

Conclusion

The reason the background color in the iOS version of X is suddenly turning black or white is that X's in-app color scheme setting was removed and it now follows the iPhone's own settings.

If you want X's background to be black, switch the iPhone to dark mode, and if you want it to be white, switch it to light mode.

If the background color is switching automatically, check whether the setting that automatically switches between dark mode and light mode depending on the time of day is turned on.