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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Ambient Mode
Ambient mode is the soft glow of a video's colors that YouTube casts around the player in dark theme. Turn it off from the player's Settings gear, Ambient mode, on a computer, or Settings, Additional settings, Ambient mode on a phone.
To turn off ambient mode on YouTube, open any video, click the Settings gear in the player and switch Ambient mode off; on a phone, tap Settings > Additional settings > Ambient mode (YouTube Help). The switch applies to every video, not just the one playing. Ambient mode is the lighting effect that spills a video's colors softly into the page around the player, and it switches itself on with YouTube's dark theme. It arrived in YouTube's redesign of October 2022 and is part of how YouTube looks by default today.
Quick facts
| What it is | A glow of the video's colors around the player |
| Needs | Dark theme; turning dark theme on turns ambient mode on |
| Turn off on a computer | Player Settings > Ambient mode |
| Turn off on Android, iPhone and iPad | Player Settings > Additional settings > Ambient mode |
| Scope | One switch for all videos |
| Introduced | Oct 24, 2022, on web and mobile |
Steps from Watch YouTube in ambient mode, read Nov 6, 2026; date from YouTube's blog.
How do I turn off ambient mode on YouTube?
On a computer:
- Open any video.
- Click Settings (the gear) in the player.
- Click Ambient mode and switch it off.
On Android, iPhone and iPad:
- Open any video and tap it once.
- Tap Settings, then Additional settings.
- Tap Ambient mode to switch it off.
The setting then applies to all videos (Help). Switching YouTube to the light theme also ends the glow, because ambient mode exists only in dark theme.
Why the glow appears
YouTube describes ambient mode as a lighting effect that makes watching more immersive by casting gentle colors from the video into the background (Help). When it was announced on Oct 24, 2022, YouTube said it uses dynamic color sampling so the background follows the video, and that it works in dark theme on web and mobile (YouTube blog). The same redesign made dark theme darker and brought precise seeking and pinch to zoom.
Why people turn it off
Not everyone likes it: the moving color at the edges can pull the eye away from the video, and on a dim or OLED screen it lights up an area that would otherwise stay black. George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, made "Turn off YouTube Ambient Mode", a walkthrough of the switch. It changes nothing for creators: ambient mode is drawn by the viewer's player and has no effect on a video's quality or how it is counted.
What creators say
In a January 2023 video, George Vanous of Freedom! found that turning on dark theme switched ambient mode on with it, with no separate setting on that page, and complained that YouTube's documentation explained how to turn it on but never how to turn it off. In his view the glow undid the point of the new, darker dark theme: only with ambient mode off, he said, do you get the darker dark mode.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get rid of the glow around YouTube videos? Click the Settings gear in the YouTube player and switch off Ambient mode (on a phone, Settings > Additional settings > Ambient mode), or switch YouTube to the light theme.
Why does ambient mode keep coming back on YouTube? YouTube Help does not say the setting follows your account, so another browser, another device or a browser with its site data cleared can start in dark theme with ambient mode on again; switch it off there too.
Does YouTube ambient mode work in light theme? No. Ambient mode is part of YouTube's dark theme, and turning dark theme on turns it on.
Does ambient mode use more battery on YouTube? YouTube Help says nothing about battery use. When it introduced ambient mode in 2022, Creator Insider said the new, darker dark theme can save battery, but gave no figure for ambient mode itself.
Sources
- Watch YouTube in ambient mode, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Ready for our close up: An updated look and feel for YouTube, YouTube Official Blog, Oct 24, 2022
- New Look, Still YouTube, Sneak Peek: Visual Updates, Creator Insider, Oct 24, 2022 (video)
- Turn off YouTube Ambient Mode, Freedom!, Jan 17, 2023 (video)
Moments
Turn off YouTube Ambient Mode
Freedom!
New Look, Still YouTube- Sneak Peek: Visual Updates Coming to YouTube!
Creator Insider
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See also
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Automatic DubbingYouTube automatic dubbing uses AI to add translated audio tracks to eligible creators' videos, labeled "auto-dubbed". Viewers switch back to the original audio in the player's settings; creators turn it off in the YouTube Studio app under Settings, Automatic dubbing.
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Captions and SubtitlesTurn YouTube captions on with the CC button or the C key, translate them with Settings, Subtitles/CC, Auto-translate, and restyle them under Options. Creators add captions in YouTube Studio's Subtitles page; automatic captions cover 67 languages.
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ChaptersYouTube chapters split a video into titled sections on the progress bar. Creators add them by typing timestamps in the description, starting at 0:00, with at least three chapters of at least 10 seconds each, or let YouTube make automatic chapters.
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ClipsA YouTube clip is a 5 to 60 second piece of someone's video or live stream, with its own link, that plays on a loop. Make one with Clip under the video; creators turn Clips off in YouTube Studio under Settings, Channel, Advanced settings.
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DownloadsYouTube Premium members download videos with the Download button under the video, on phones and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Opera on a computer, and watch them offline for up to 29 days before reconnecting. In some countries free downloads last 48 hours.