Darker vs DateSmith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Darker
Enhance your web browsing experience with a dark mode extension for Safari. This tool automatically applies a dark theme to all websites, reducing eye strain and improving readability, especially at night. Customize your viewing experience with adjustable opacity and background colors.
- Automatic dark mode for all websites
- Night shift yellow tint
- Customizable background opacity
- Customizable background color
- Improved readability
- Battery saving
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Darker is a Safari extension that automatically adds a dark mode to every website you visit. It makes browsing the web at night so much better. With Darker, you won’t be blinded by bright websites ever again. The main features are: - apply dark mode to various web sites - Enable night shift - yellow tint that helps your eyes - Make web pages easier to read - Read comfortable in night - Save battery power - Customizable background color - Customizable background opacity with a slider Privacy Policy: • The Darker extension requires access to the websites you visit to analyze the existing style of the page and to override it with Darker's dark style. • Darker never collects your browsing data. The only data Darker ‘collects’ are your settings, and those will never leave your device. -- HOW TO SETUP -- 1. Please open the app and click the button on the welcome screen. This will take you to the Settings screen. Then tap Safari (for iPad, check left pane) > Extensions > Darker, then tap the switch to turn it on. 2: On the same screen, tap All Websites > Allow to grant permission to run Darker's extension on Safari on all websites. Now you're all set! Note: You can tap the "Manage Extensions" icon in your Safari address bar to access the Darker settings. Note: Safari may display a notice saying that the extension can read your sensitive information and browsing history. This is a general reminder that appears with every extension. Darker will never read or collect any of your personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers. It's completely safe to use. You have my word! The extension will work on Safari for iOS/iPadOS version 15.0 and above.
DateSmith
Display custom date formats or countdowns on your Lock Screen and Home Screen. Personalize with themes, photos, and text styles. Optimized for dual-screen devices and designed for privacy.
- Customizable date formats
- Countdown timers
- Home Screen widgets
- Lock Screen integration
- Themable designs
- Photo customization
- Dual-screen optimization
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Your date, above the clock. DateSmith puts a clearer, fuller date in the line above your Lock Screen clock, or a countdown to the day you are looking forward to. Now optimized for iPhone Duo, with bold Home Screen widgets you can make your own. YOUR FORMAT, YOUR WAY Pick any two of month, date, weekday and year, each in the style you like. See it live in a Lock Screen preview that changes with every tap. COUNTDOWNS Name it and pick the day. DateSmith shows the days left until a trip, a birthday or a big day. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Small, medium and large widgets show your date or countdown in big, clear type, with a week strip on the medium size, a month calendar on the large size and a date page on medium countdowns. - Themes: Dawn, Ocean, Aurora, Graphite and System - Your own photo, framed for the square and wide widget shapes - A different photo for Dark Mode if you like - Liquid Glass style text with a soft highlight and depth, or crisp solid text OPTIMIZED FOR IPHONE DUO DateSmith fits both displays, folded or open, in portrait and in landscape. Open it and hold it sideways to see your Lock Screen preview and every setting side by side. UPDATES ON ITS OWN DateSmith prepares the week ahead, so your widgets change each day, even when the app is closed. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no ads and no analytics. Your widgets need no internet connection. DateSmith never uploads your photo. SIMPLE SETUP 1. Touch and hold your Lock Screen 2. Tap Customize 3. Tap the date above the time 4. Choose DateSmith 5. Tap Done For the Home Screen, touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen, tap Edit, tap Add Widget, then choose DateSmith. PLANS Try every format, countdown, theme, photo and text style free for 7 days. When the preview ends, your widgets show Preview Ended in place of your date or countdown until you subscribe. DateSmith Monthly or DateSmith Yearly keeps your widgets working. DateSmith Monthly includes a one-week free trial for eligible new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ben637482548.github.io/datesmith/#privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DateSmith at 5.0 against Darker's 4.2. DateSmith also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and ads (none vs shown). Darker's advantage is ratings volume (1.3K vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Darker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DateSmith sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
DateSmith holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Darker has 1.3K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Darker's written reviews are positive against 100% of DateSmith's.
Darker ships an update every 3 weeks, DateSmith weekly. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Darker | DateSmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (1.3K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 国辉 满 | Benjamin Staab |
Customer experience
Darker
DateSmith
Bugs and requests
Darker
Reported bugs
2 issues- Persistent review popups
- Sudden loss of functionality after trial period
Requested features
3 requests- More customization options
- Improved performance on older devices
- Ability to disable review prompts
DateSmith
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Darker
- Premium for Darker$1.99
DateSmith
- DateSmith Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- DateSmith Yearly$4.991 Year









