To change Safari to white mode, you need to change your device's system-wide appearance setting to "Light", Safari doesn't have its own independent light or dark toggle, so it follows whatever your Mac, iPhone, or iPad is set to. On a Mac, that means opening System Settings and selecting "Light" under Appearance; on an iPhone or iPad, you'll do the same in the Settings app under Display & Brightness.
How to change Safari to white mode on a Mac
On a Mac, Safari's background color is tied directly to the system appearance. To switch it to white, you'll adjust the global setting, and Safari will update immediately.
- Open the Apple menu (the logo in the top-left corner of your screen) and select System Settings. If you're on an older macOS version, this may be called System Preferences.
- In the sidebar, click Appearance (on older macOS, this is the General pane).
- Under the "Appearance" options, choose Light. You'll see the option to pick between Light, Dark, and Auto.
Once you select Light, Safari's toolbar, background, and website content areas will switch to a white or light gray palette. This change applies to all apps that support light mode, not just Safari, so your entire Mac interface will brighten up.
How to change Safari to white mode on an iPhone or iPad
On iOS and iPadOS, Safari also follows the system-wide appearance. To get a white background in Safari, you need to set your device to Light mode.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Under the "Appearance" section, tap Light.
Your device will immediately switch to a light interface, and Safari will display with a white background. This setting applies to all apps that support light mode, so the change isn't limited to just the browser.
Understanding Auto mode for light and dark appearance
If you don't want to permanently lock Safari to white mode, you can use the Auto appearance setting instead. Auto mode automatically switches between Light and Dark based on the time of day, typically at sunrise and sunset, or you can set a custom schedule. This is useful if you prefer a bright white browser during the day but want a darker screen at night to reduce eye strain in low-light conditions. On a Mac, you'll find the Auto option in System Settings > Appearance; on an iPhone or iPad, it's in Settings > Display & Brightness. You can also choose "Custom Schedule" to define exact times for when each mode kicks in.
How to set a light background in Safari Reader View
Even if you keep your system in Dark mode, you can still get a white reading experience inside Safari's Reader View. Reader View strips away ads, sidebars, and other distractions, leaving just the article text, and it has its own independent background themes, including light ones. To access it, open an article in Safari and tap or click the Reader View icon (which looks like lines of text) in the address bar. Then, tap or click the Aa icon (or the Page menu icon on iOS/iPadOS) to open the display options. From there, you can select a white or light gray background theme. This lets you enjoy a clean, white reading layout without changing your entire device's appearance, a handy trick if you prefer dark mode for general browsing but want a bright, high-contrast page for long-form articles.
