Windows 10 users: Chrome 74 will obey your dark mode setting

Google has released the beta version of Chrome 74, the first version that will obey the color setting that users choose in the Windows 10 settings app. 

Operating system level color-mode support arrived in Chrome 73 on macOS earlier this month and should come to Windows 10 users in late April, around the time Windows 10 version 1903 is slated for release. 

Chrome 74 also includes a new feature aimed at reducing giddiness when users look at webpages with zooming and fancy parallax animations. 

Web developers will have the option to support user requests for a 'motion-reduced' version of their website. 

Developers can help their users avoid motion sickness on the web by using the CSS media query 'prefers-reduced-motion', which can prevent autoplay videos and suppress other effects that induce dizziness. 

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While Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows already have settings to reduce motion, that's not true of the web, and Chromium 74 attempts to fill this gap. 

"Support will be added for the CSS prefers-reduced-motion media query. The prefers-reduced-motion media query detects whether the user has requested that the system minimize the amount of motion it uses; in particular motion-based animation," explains Google. 

"This is for users who either require or prefer minimized motion. For example, people with vestibular disorders often desire animation motion to be kept to a minimum." 

The reduced-motion effort is a product of the CSS Working Group, which is also working on browser standards for detecting when the user prefers less transparency on a site, when the user wants to reduce the contrast between adjacent colors, when the user prefers a light or dark color scheme, and when the user prefers inverted colors. Google intends to support these user preferences in future versions of Chrome. 

More on Google's Chrome browser

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• Google Chrome 73 released with dark mode support on macOS
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• Google reveals Chrome zero-day under active attacks
• Best Google Chrome extensions (February 2019 edition)
• The difference between Gmail, a Google Account, and G Suite accounts TechRepublic
• Google promises Chrome changes after privacy complaints CNET