# Switch themes on the web

> Set the Canto web app to Light, Dark, or System from Settings → Preferences → Appearance. System follows your operating system automatically.

Updated: 2026-08-16 · Canonical: https://usecanto.com/help/account/theme-web/

The Canto web app has three theme options — **Light**, **Dark**, and **System** — under **Settings** → **Preferences** → **Appearance**. The change applies immediately.

## How do I change the theme?

1. Open **Settings** in the web app.
2. Choose **Preferences** (sublabel "Theme & language").
3. Under **Appearance**, pick **Light**, **Dark**, or **System**.

There's no save button; the interface switches as soon as you click an option.

## What does each option do?

- **Light** — the light interface, regardless of what your operating system is set to.
- **Dark** — the dark interface, always.
- **System** — follows your operating system's appearance. If your OS switches to dark mode on a schedule (for example at sunset), Canto switches with it, live, without a reload.

**System** is the default.

## What does the theme affect?

Only how the web app looks to you. Recordings, transcripts, and notes are unaffected, and a recording you share renders in the viewer's own theme, not yours. Exports keep their own formatting too — a PDF exported while you're in dark mode is a normal light document.

## Can I set a theme on iOS or Android?

Not from inside the app — the mobile apps follow your device's appearance setting. To use Canto in dark mode on your phone, switch the device itself to dark mode (or schedule it) in iOS **Settings** → **Display & Brightness** or Android **Settings** → **Display**.

## Troubleshooting

### The theme looks wrong after I changed my OS setting

If you picked **Light** or **Dark** explicitly, Canto keeps that choice and ignores the operating system. Switch to **System** if you want it to track the OS again.

### Dark mode flashes light for a moment on load

A brief flash while the page loads can happen on slow connections before your preference is applied. It resolves once the app finishes loading; if it persists, do a hard refresh of the tab.

Related articles:

- [Change your language](https://usecanto.com/help/account/change-language/)
- [What's different on iOS, Android, and web?](https://usecanto.com/help/getting-started/canto-on-ios-android-web/)