How to Make Your Phone Grayscale on Android and iPhone

A gray screen is one of the simplest tricks for using your phone less. Red notification badges stop shouting at you. Thumbnails, stories and game icons lose a lot of their pull. Nothing gets deleted and nothing gets blocked. The phone just gets a bit boring.

This guide shows you how to turn it on, how to put it on a schedule, and what the studies actually found.

The short answer: on a Google Pixel, open Settings > Accessibility > Color & motion > Color correction, turn on Use color correction and pick Grayscale. On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision enhancements > Color correction, turn it on and pick Grayscale. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters, turn it on and choose Grayscale. To make it automatic, turn grayscale on inside Bedtime mode (Pixel) or Sleep mode (Samsung).

Menu names differ between Android versions and phone brands. If a step doesn't match your phone, type "grayscale" or "color correction" into the search box at the top of Settings.

Method 1: Turn on grayscale permanently

This makes your screen black and white all day until you switch it off.

Google Pixel (stock Android 16)

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Color & motion > Color correction. It's listed under Experimental.
2. Turn on Use color correction.
3. Under the correction modes, select Grayscale.
4. Optional: turn on Color correction shortcut and choose Quick Settings shortcut. You can then switch grayscale on and off from a Color correction tile when you swipe down from the top of the screen.

Samsung Galaxy

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Vision enhancements. On some newer versions this menu is called Visibility enhancements.
2. Tap Color correction. On some versions it's called Color adjustment.
3. Turn on the switch at the top and select Grayscale.
4. Optional: turn on Color correction shortcut on the same screen so you can switch grayscale on and off without digging through menus.

Don't confuse this with Color filter, which tints the screen a color instead of removing it.

Other Android phones

On OnePlus, Xiaomi, Motorola and most others, grayscale sits in the Accessibility settings under a name like Color correction, Color adjustment or Monochrome. Search Settings for "grayscale" or "color correction" and you'll land on it.

iPhone

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size.
2. Tap Color Filters and turn on Color Filters.
3. Select Grayscale.
4. To toggle it fast, go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and select Color Filters. Now a triple-click on the side button switches grayscale on and off.

These steps come straight from Apple's iPhone User Guide. You can also add a color filter control to Control Center.

Method 2: Make grayscale turn on automatically at night

Grayscale all day is a lot to ask, mostly because of photos and maps. A good middle ground is grayscale in the evening, when scrolling tends to run longest. Both Pixel and Samsung have this built in.

Google Pixel: Bedtime mode

1. Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing > Bedtime mode.
2. Tap Bedtime routine, choose Use a schedule and set it, for example 21:30 to 07:00.
3. Tap Customize in Modes, scroll down to Display settings and make sure Grayscale is on. It's on by default, next to Dim the wallpaper and Enable dark theme.

If you want an early night, tap Turn on now on the Bedtime mode screen and grayscale starts right away. If you can't find any of this, search Settings for "bedtime".

Samsung Galaxy: Sleep mode

1. Open Settings > Modes and Routines and tap Sleep.
2. Under Turn on automatically, tap When to start this mode and set your usual bedtime.
3. Under Other actions, tap More actions for this mode and add Grayscale. It's listed under Suggested actions, next to Dark mode and Eye comfort shield.
4. Tap Done. Do not disturb is already on for Sleep mode by default.

For the rest of Samsung's built-in tools, see our Digital Wellbeing on Samsung guide.

iPhone

There's no grayscale switch inside Sleep Focus. The workaround is the Shortcuts app: create a personal automation that runs at a set time of day and uses the Set Color Filters action to turn the filter on. Create a second one for the morning to turn it off.

What the research says

Grayscale is one of the few screen-time tricks that has been tested in actual studies. The results point in one direction, and the effects are moderate.

• Holte and Ferraro (2020). In a study in The Social Science Journal, about 220 college students set their phones to grayscale. According to the University of Cincinnati's summary of the work, their phone use dropped by an average of 39 minutes a day.
• Zimmermann and Sobolev (2023). A pre-registered randomized field experiment with 112 people over several weeks compared grayscale with setting time limits and with only tracking screen time. Grayscale led to an immediate, significant drop in objectively measured screen time. Time limits worked more slowly and less. The researchers found no immediate effect on well-being or academic performance.
• Hagerty and colleagues (2026). In a small crossover trial, 51 medical students used grayscale for one week and normal color for another. Grayscale cut screen time by about 28 minutes a day, from roughly 5.8 hours to 5.3. Screen time was self-reported, and sleep and productivity didn't clearly change.

So the honest summary: grayscale tends to save around half an hour a day in short studies, mostly with students. Nobody has shown that the effect lasts for months, and it didn't clearly make people feel better in the studies above. It's a real nudge. It isn't a cure.

The downsides

Grayscale is a display filter, so it affects everything on the screen:

• Photos and videos look flat. You can still take photos normally, but you won't judge colors well while editing or choosing a picture.
• Maps are harder to read. Traffic colors, transit lines and route options all turn gray.
• Color-coded things lose meaning: calendar categories, charts, battery warnings, red error messages.
• Some apps are annoying to use, especially games and anything with color-based buttons.

This is why most people set up a shortcut. And that shortcut is also the weak spot.

How easy is it to undo?

Very easy, and that's the main limit of grayscale.

On a Pixel, the Color correction tile in Quick Settings brings color back in one tap. Bedtime mode can be turned off or paused from the same place. On a Samsung, Sleep mode turns off from the quick panel and Color correction is two menus deep. On an iPhone, it's a triple-click on the side button.

Grayscale works on the version of you who doesn't really care that much: the "just checking" swipe, the bored minute in a queue. It doesn't work on the version of you who wants to watch something at 11 p.m. That person switches color back on in two taps, or keeps scrolling in gray. If that sounds familiar, our guide on how to stop scrolling at night goes into why nights are so hard.

The stronger layer: remove the feed instead of dulling it

Grayscale makes the feed duller. StoicOS removes the feed.

StoicOS is a system for Android that blocks addictive apps at the system level: social media, streaming including YouTube, games, porn and gambling. It uses Android's Device Owner permissions, so it can't be turned off or uninstalled from the phone. The matching websites are blocked in the browser too, so you can't move from the Instagram app to instagram.com. Calls, messages, maps, banking, music and your other tools keep working.

You decide once, during the day, and there's no toggle to find later. If you ever need an app, you can request it. It's checked against the policy and approved in under a minute if it's allowed.

A few honest limits for this use case. StoicOS blocks whole apps, not parts of them. It can't keep Instagram but hide Reels. And it doesn't replace grayscale. The two do different jobs, and you can use both: StoicOS takes the feeds away, and grayscale makes whatever is left on the phone a bit quieter. StoicOS is Android-only. On an iPhone, grayscale plus Screen Time is as far as you can go.

Setup takes about 10 minutes with a computer (Chrome or Edge) and a USB cable. No factory reset is needed.

Which method should you pick?

Method	Can you undo it in a weak moment?	Cost	Effort
Grayscale all day	Yes, one tap or a triple-click	Free	Low
Grayscale at bedtime (Pixel)	Yes, turn off Bedtime mode	Free	Low
Grayscale in Sleep mode (Samsung)	Yes, turn off Sleep mode	Free	Low
Grayscale automation (iPhone)	Yes, triple-click	Free	Medium
StoicOS	No	From €7/month	10-minute setup

If your habit is mild, grayscale at bedtime is a good, free place to start. If you've already caught yourself switching it off every night, a feed you can't reopen will do more than a feed you can't see in color.

For more ways to make your phone less interesting, read how to make your phone minimalist.

Get your life back with StoicOS

Android 9+ · From €7/month · 30-day money-back guarantee · Not available on iPhone

Related guides

• Bedtime mode on Android
• How to check screen time on Android
• Digital Wellbeing on Samsung
• How to block Instagram
• How to block TikTok
• How to make your phone minimalist

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn my phone black and white?

On a Pixel, go to Settings > Accessibility > Color & motion > Color correction and choose Grayscale. On a Samsung, go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision enhancements > Color correction and choose Grayscale. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters and choose Grayscale.

Does grayscale actually reduce screen time?

In studies so far, yes, by a moderate amount. A 2023 randomized experiment with 112 people found an immediate drop in screen time, and a 2026 trial with medical students found about 28 minutes less per day. Nobody has shown yet that the effect lasts for months.

Why did my phone suddenly turn grayscale?

Usually Bedtime mode on a Pixel or Sleep mode on a Samsung switched it on at its scheduled time. It can also be an accessibility shortcut you triggered by accident. Turn off the mode or the color correction setting and color comes back.

Can I schedule grayscale only for the evening?

Yes. On a Pixel, turn on Grayscale in Bedtime mode and set a schedule. On a Samsung, add Grayscale to Sleep mode. On an iPhone, use two Shortcuts automations with the Set Color Filters action, one to turn it on and one to turn it off.

Does grayscale affect the photos I take?

No. It only changes how the screen looks. Photos and screenshots are saved in color, so you can switch color back on to view or edit them.

Is grayscale enough to stop scrolling?

For a mild habit, it can be enough, especially at night. If you keep switching color back on or scrolling anyway, you need something you can't undo in two taps, like a system-level blocker such as StoicOS on Android.