Dark mode toggles: two states are enough

Title “Dark mode toggles: two states are enough” by Lea Verou, PhD, beside four browser mockups with “System appearance” sun and moon toggles, shown in light and dark themes.

Lea Verou argues the common three-state light, dark, and system control is implementation-driven design, since people switch themes only when the current one feels wrong, not to plan ahead. Keep three states under the hood, show two, and label the toggle with the theme it will switch to. Clearing the stored override should happen only through user interaction. Tri-state still fits a separate settings panel.

lea.verou.me/blog/2026/dark-mode-toggles