For years, Microsoft Edge has quietly built a reputation as the power-user’s browser when it comes to built-in accessibility features. While both Edge and Google Chrome share the same underlying Chromium rendering engine, Microsoft has consistently pushed ahead by adding native, granular customization tools that go well beyond basic browser extensions.
One standout feature introduced to Edge over two years ago was its dedicated Page Colors menu. Instead of forcing users to rely on clunky third-party extensions or system-wide contrast toggles, Edge gave users direct control over webpage high-contrast themes right inside the browser settings.
Now, Google is finally following suit. The exact same Page Colors control panel is officially making its way to Google Chrome, and it is already live for testing in the latest Chrome Canary builds.
What Is the New “Page Colors” Feature in Chrome?
If you navigate to chrome://settings/accessibility in current preview builds of Google Chrome, you will notice a brand-new section labeled Page Colors sitting under the Accessibility tab.
Chrome Settings
└── Accessibility
└── Page colors [ Default (match system) | Off | Dusk | Desert | Night Sky | Aquatic | White ]
└── [Toggle] Use default page colors when system high contrast is off
This section allows users to override webpage color palettes with high-contrast themes or turn off forced color constraints altogether.
Historically, applying forced high-contrast themes in Chrome required enabling global Windows High Contrast mode or installing browser extensions from the Chrome Web Store like High Contrast or Color Enhancer. While extensions work fine, native browser settings offer significantly better rendering performance, lower resource usage, and zero lag when loading heavy web pages.
Themes Included: Borrowing Straight from Windows 11
Google isn’t just adding a basic dark/light override—they are adopting the full suite of high-contrast color palettes popularized by Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge.
When opening the Page colors dropdown in Chrome Canary, users can choose from several predefined color profiles:
Default (match system): Automatically syncs browser color forcing with your operating system’s contrast settings.
Off: Disables forced colors entirely, letting websites display their original color styles.
Dusk: A soft, dark-purple and muted contrast profile designed to ease eye strain in low-light environments.
Desert: A warm, golden sand-toned high-contrast theme.
Night Sky: A deep, ultra-dark black backdrop paired with high-visibility primary text.
Aquatic: A cool-toned cyan and navy contrast theme optimized for readability.
White: A stark, bright white background with bold black text for maximum visual clarity.
Independent Control vs. System High Contrast
One of the most useful tweaks in this new setup is the sub-toggle directly underneath the color selector: “Use default page colors when system high contrast is off.”
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Page colors |
| Override webpage colors with high-contrast themes or turn off forced |
| colors |
| [ Default (match system) v ] |
| |
| Use default page colors when system high contrast is off |
| Your selected page color theme is used only while system high |
| contrast is on ( O ) [Toggle Switch] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This toggle gives users two distinct ways to run their browser:
Independent Mode (Toggle Off): You can force Chrome to always display websites in Dusk or Night Sky mode regardless of what your computer’s global operating system theme is doing.
System-Synced Mode (Toggle On): Chrome will render pages normally during standard PC use, but the moment you enable Windows High Contrast mode, Chrome will automatically kick into your preferred custom theme.
This independence is a game-changer for users who prefer custom reading environments inside their browser without altering their entire desktop OS UI.
Why This Matters for the Chromium Ecosystem
While it might seem like a minor UI addition, bringing native forced-colors management directly into Chrome standardizes accessibility across the entire Chromium ecosystem. Web developers creating sites with the @media (forced-colors: active) CSS media query can now reliably test high-contrast readability in Chrome without jumping through hoops or installing secondary tools.
More importantly, it shows that Google is paying close attention to Edge’s subtle productivity wins. Microsoft’s focus on accessibility, vertical tabs, and workspace management forced Chrome to innovate, and users are getting a far more capable browser as a result.
How to Try “Page Colors” Right Now
If you want to test the feature today:
Download and install Google Chrome Canary (Developer preview).
Open Chrome Canary and type
chrome://settings/accessibilityinto the address bar.Look for the Page colors section near the top of the accessibility controls.
Click the dropdown menu to test out themes like Dusk, Desert, or Aquatic across your favorite news sites and blogs.
If you don’t see it right away, ensure your Canary build is updated to the latest release, as Google is actively rolling out the flag across preview channels before pushing it to stable Chrome builds in an upcoming release.
Final Thoughts
It took over two years, but seeing Chrome adopt Edge’s robust Page Colors menu is a big win for web accessibility and user choice. By baking high-contrast theme overrides natively into the browser, Google makes the web significantly more comfortable to read for visually impaired users and night-owl readers alike.
Keep yourself updated with all the latest Microsoft Edge news by reading our full coverage here.
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