On an iPhone, “night mode” can mean either the dark system theme or the camera’s low‑light Night mode. Both are built in and only take a couple of taps to use.

Turn on Dark Mode (system “night mode”)

This flips most white backgrounds to dark, which is easier on the eyes at night.

  • Open Settings → Display & Brightness.
  • Under Appearance, tap Dark. This immediately turns on the dark theme across iOS and many apps.
  • To have it switch automatically at night, toggle Automatic , then choose Sunset to Sunrise or set a Custom Schedule.

You can also toggle it quickly:

  • Swipe down from the top‑right (or up from the bottom on older models) to open Control Center.
  • Long‑press the brightness slider and tap the Dark Mode button if it shows there.

Night Shift for warmer night colors

Night Shift makes the screen warmer and less blue, which many people prefer in the evening.

  • Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Night Shift.
  • Turn on Scheduled and set your times or choose Sunset to Sunrise.
  • Use the slider to choose how warm the colors should be at night.
  • You can also manually enable it until tomorrow by tapping Manually Enable Until Tomorrow.

From Control Center:

  • Open Control Center , long‑press the brightness slider, then tap Night Shift to toggle it.

Turn on Night mode in the Camera

Camera Night mode brightens photos in low light and works on iPhone 11 and newer. It does not show as a normal switch; it appears only when the phone senses low light.

  • Open the Camera app and stay on Photo mode.
  • Point the camera at a dim scene; when it is dark enough, a moon icon appears at the top of the screen.
  • If the moon icon is yellow , Night mode is active; if it is gray or crossed out, tap it to enable or adjust the exposure time.
  • Hold the phone steady while the timer counts down, then the phone processes a brighter low‑light shot.

On some models, you cannot force Night mode in bright environments; it only becomes available when the camera detects low light.

Quick Scoop

  • Use Dark Mode for a darker interface at night.
  • Use Night Shift to make the display warmer and easier on your eyes.
  • Use Camera Night mode (moon icon) to take brighter photos in low light on supported iPhones.

TL;DR: For “night mode” on iPhone, turn on Dark Mode in Settings → Display & Brightness, optionally schedule Night Shift for warm colors, and use the moon icon in the Camera app when shooting in low light.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.