Twitter has gone through some drastic changes over the past week. Elon Musk renamed the whole platform “X” and got rid of the iconic blue bird logo, just to name a few of the biggest examples.
And Musk had at least one more radical idea for his platform this week: switch X to dark mode only. Thankfully, though, it seems those plans have been averted.
Early Thursday morning, Musk announced that he was going to drop “light mode” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“This platform will soon only have ‘dark mode.’ Musk tweeted. “It is better in every way.”
Dark mode has become extremely popular over the years. Many users prefer having a dark background with light text over light mode, which is traditionally the default online and features a white background with dark text. Some users have an easier time reading in dark mode. Studies have also found that dark mode can also help extend a device’s battery life, although that’s dependent on other factors as well.
However, dark mode isn’t the choice for all. There are still plenty of users that prefer using light mode. Dark mode also presents accessibility issues as well for some users with disabilities. Those users took the time to let Musk know that making dark mode the only option available was a bad idea.
“Not everyone’s eyes can handle dark mode,” replied one user.
“Having dark mode only will cause a loss in accessibility for some users. Specifically with those that have astigmatism (halation with white text on black background) or Irlen Syndrome,” wrote another.
Some users suggested that Musk just make dark mode the new default option while allowing users to still make the switch to light mode.
“What happened to letting people decide what’s best for them?” read one reply.
By the end of Thursday, Musk relented.
“A lot of people have asked to keep light mode, so we will, but the default will be dark and dim will be deleted,” the owner of X tweeted.
So, light mode stays. Dark mode becomes the default setting. And a third option, dim, will be removed…that is, unless Musk changes his mind again.
