Zoom dark theme and calmer video calls with migraine

Updated 2026-11-02

Quick answerThe Zoom app has an appearance setting with Light, Dark and Use system setting, found in Settings under General. Dark mode makes the app frame darker but other people's video stays as bright as their cameras. During an attack, lowering screen brightness and turning off incoming video when possible helps more.

Desktop app

  1. Click your profile picture, then Settings.
  2. Open General and find Appearance (theme).
  3. Choose Dark or Use system setting.

In a call

  1. Lower screen brightness to match the room.
  2. If allowed, hide other participants' video or switch to speaker view to reduce motion.

Good to know

  • Shared screens and videos are not darkened by the Zoom theme.
  • Migraine Mode adds what the site lacks: dimming, a soft-green tint, smart dark mode, frozen GIFs and blocked autoplay, all with one switch.

FAQ

Does Zoom dark mode work in the browser client?

Theme options are documented for the Zoom app; in a browser, a page filter can dim the web client.

Will dark mode change my video?

No. It only changes the app interface.

Sources

  • Zoom Support: Changing the appearance (theme) of the Zoom app. Link
  • Investigation of the optimum display luminance of an LCD screen under different ambient illuminances in the evening. Applied Sciences, 2021. Link
  • Optimum display luminance dependence on ambient illuminance. Optical Engineering, 2017. Link

Not a medical device and not medical advice. Migraine Mode is a screen-comfort tool: it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent migraine or any other condition, and it does not replace a doctor. Its settings are based on studies of light, colour, flicker, patterns and motion; the extension itself has not been clinically tested. When to see a doctor.