PDF dark mode, for reading at night
PDFCheetah's free PDF Dark Mode tool turns the pages of a PDF dark in your browser — light text on black or dim gray, photos kept in their colors — and your file never leaves your device.
Updated
Choose a PDF file to turn dark
One file · up to 80 MB · PDF bytes are checked on this device
Processed on this device
Selecting and processing files stays in this browser.
Checking offline readiness
Offline availability is confirmed after this tool loads.
Why there is no daily limit, and no upload
How to turn a PDF dark
- Open the PDF you want to read at night.
- Choose Black or a softer Dim background, and whether photos keep their colors.
- Select Create dark PDF, then Download. It stays dark in any PDF reader, on any device.
How it works
Each page gets a filter that inverts it: white paper turns black and black text turns white, while the text stays real text you can select, search and copy. Photos and pictures are prepared first so the filter turns them back to their own colors. It all happens in this browser tab: nothing is uploaded.
Current limitations
Comments, highlights and form fields are drawn above the page, so they keep their light colors. Colored text and charts come out in their opposite colors. A few kinds of picture — CMYK, JPEG 2000 and some others — cannot be kept and are inverted with the page; the result says how many. With Dim, kept pictures lose a little contrast. Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened here yet: use Unlock PDF first if you know the password.
Common questions
- Is my PDF uploaded to turn it dark?
- No. The PDF is changed in your browser and the new file is written on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
- Does it stay dark in any PDF reader?
- Yes. The dark look is part of the file, so it opens dark in any PDF reader, on any device.
- Can I still select and search the text?
- Yes. Each page gets a filter that inverts it, so the text stays real text you can select, search and copy, and links still work.
- Do photos come out inverted?
- Not usually. Photos and pictures are prepared so the filter turns them back to their own colors. A few kinds, such as CMYK and JPEG 2000 pictures, cannot be kept and come out inverted with the page; the result says how many.
- Does anything keep its light colors?
- Comments, highlights and form fields do, because they are drawn above the page. Colored text and charts come out in their opposite colors.