If you have an iPhone 8 or later and the latest version of iOS, you can use a feature called Back Tap to switch between dark mode and light mode on your device with just two or three taps. Here’s how to set it up using shortcuts.
First create the shortcut Dark/Light toggle
To switch between dark and light mode, we need to use an Apple Shortcut, an automated way to perform a task on your iPhone. When activated, the shortcut will automatically switch between “light appearance” or “dark appearance” depending on the currently set mode. This is equivalent to tapping the “Dark Mode” button in Control Center or changing your phone’s appearance in the Settings app.
Launch the Shortcuts app to get started. If you can’t find it, swipe down from the center of the screen, type “Shortcuts,” then tap the “Shortcuts” app icon.
When Shortcuts opens, tap the “My Shortcuts” tab at the bottom of the screen, then choose “All Shortcuts” from the list above.
On the “All Shortcuts” page, tap plus (“+”) in the top right corner. This will add a new shortcut.
On the New Shortcut page, tap the shortcut name at the top of the screen and type “Switch Appearance.” If you want, you can also tap the icon next to it and adjust the color and glyph.
Then tap the “Add Action” button.
In the “Actions” panel that appears, type “Appearance” in the search bar, then select “Set appearance” from the list of actions.
Then tap “Turn” in the “Turn Appearance” action and select “Toggle” from the pop-up menu. This causes the dark and light modes to alternate each time you activate the shortcut.
And that’s all you need to do! Press “X” in the top right corner and your shortcut will be saved. You can test it in Shortcuts by tapping the “Toggle Appearance” hotkey as many times as you like. If you set it up right, the appearance of your iPhone will change from light to dark or dark to light.
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Then configure Back Tap in Settings
Now that you’ve created the “Toggle Appearance” shortcut, you can set Back Tap to activate it with a few taps. To do this, first open the Settings app.
In Settings, select Accessibility > Touch.
Under ‘Touch Settings’ choose the option ‘Tap back’.
In “Back Tap” you have the option to launch the “Toggle Appearance” shortcut with two or three taps on the back of your iPhone. Select the desired option.
In the options menu that appears, swipe down to the “Shortcuts” section. Select ‘Change appearance’. If selected, there will be a check mark next to it.
Then close Settings. Tap the back of your iPhone two or three times at any time (depending on how you’ve set it up). If you are in light mode, dark mode will be activated and vice versa. Having fun!
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