Dark Mode Readability & Visual Comfort Assessment

Welcome to this study on dark mode readability and comfort. We are interested in your honest experiences using dark mode on digital devices. There are no right or wrong answers — we simply want your personal opinions. This survey takes approximately 12 minutes to complete. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you may stop at any time. All responses are confidential, anonymized, and will be reported only in aggregate for UX research purposes. By continuing, you agree to participate in this study.

How often do you use dark mode on any device?

• Always
• Often
• Sometimes
• Rarely
• Never

Do you use any of the following vision aids or accessibility tools? Select all that apply.

• Prescription glasses
• Contact lenses
• Blue-light filtering glasses
• Screen magnification or screen reader
• None of the above
• Prefer not to say

Which devices do you regularly use dark mode on? Select all that apply.

• Smartphone
• Tablet
• Laptop
• Desktop
• TV or game console
• Smartwatch

In the past 7 days, when did you use dark mode most often? (local time)

• Early morning (5 am–8 am)
• Daytime (8 am–6 pm)
• Evening (6 pm–10 pm)
• Late night (10 pm–1 am)
• Overnight (1 am–5 am)
• Not in the past 7 days

Overall, how easy or difficult was it to read text in dark mode in the past 7 days?

How would you rate the contrast between text and background in dark mode in the past 7 days?

How easy or difficult was it to read headings and titles in dark mode in the past 7 days?

How easy or difficult was it to read body text (e.g., articles, messages) in dark mode in the past 7 days?

How easy or difficult was it to read small UI labels (e.g., buttons, menus, captions) in dark mode in the past 7 days?

In the past 7 days, did you experience any of the following while using dark mode? Select all that apply.

• Eye strain
• Headache
• Dry eyes
• Blurry edges around text
• Needed to squint
• None of the above

From the list below, select the three contexts where dark mode feels most comfortable to you.

• Messaging or chat
• News articles
• E-books or PDFs
• Forms or data entry
• Coding or IDE
• Video browsing
• Spreadsheets

In the past 7 days, where did you use dark mode? Select all that apply.

• Bright office or room
• Dim room
• Complete darkness
• Outdoors during daytime
• Outdoors at night
• In bed

In the past 7 days, how often did glare or reflections make it harder to read in dark mode?

For reading long articles, which theme do you prefer?

• Dark mode
• Light mode
• System default or adaptive
• No preference

For dark themes, which background shade feels most comfortable to you?

• Pure black
• Very dark gray (nearly black)
• Dark gray
• Colored dark (e.g., dark blue or dark green)
• It depends on the app or content

When using dark mode, do you adjust text size?

• Increase a lot
• Increase a little
• No change
• Decrease a little
• Decrease a lot

Which controls or settings make dark mode more comfortable for you? Select all that apply.

• True black option
• Higher contrast toggle
• Match ambient light
• Per-app theme controls
• Custom text weight
• Color filter or reduce blue light
• Dim wallpapers
• None of the above

If you could make one change to improve dark mode legibility, what would it be?

Based on your survey responses, we'd like to explore your dark mode experience a bit further. An AI moderator will ask you a couple of follow-up questions.

What is your age?

• Under 18
• 18–24
• 25–34
• 35–44
• 45–54
• 55–64
• 65+
• Prefer not to say

Which gender do you identify with?

• Man
• Woman
• Non-binary
• Prefer not to say

Which region do you currently live in?

• Africa
• Asia
• Europe
• North America
• South America
• Oceania
• Middle East
• Prefer not to say

What is your highest level of education?

• Some high school or less
• High school or equivalent
• Some college or associate degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Postgraduate (master's or doctoral)
• Prefer not to say

What is your current employment status?

• Employed full-time
• Employed part-time
• Self-employed
• Student
• Unemployed and seeking
• Not seeking work
• Retired
• Homemaker
• Prefer not to say

Thank you for participating! Your responses will help improve dark mode readability and comfort for users like you.