Red Screen
A free red screen for night vision, a darkroom, a sleep light or a plain red display. Go full screen in one click.
Press F for full screen · ← → to change the shade · Esc to exit
Pick a light
Customize your red screen
Shade
Brightness
Download
Saved at full brightness
Timer and effects
Make your whole phone red
iPhone & iPad
- Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size › Color Filters: switch it on and choose Color Tint.
- Drag Intensity and Hue all the way to the right, until the whole screen is a deep red.
- Settings › Accessibility › Accessibility Shortcut: tick Color Filters. Now a triple-click of the side (or Home) button turns red on and off.
- Darker still: Display & Text Size › Reduce White Point. To go back to normal, triple-click again or switch Color Filters off.
Android
- Samsung: Settings › Accessibility › Visibility enhancements › Color filter (Color lens on some models): switch it on, choose Red and raise the opacity.
- Add it to Accessibility shortcuts (Settings › Accessibility) to switch red on and off in one move.
- Pixel and many other phones have no red filter. The warmest they go is Settings › Display › Night Light at full strength. Extra dim lowers it further.
- Names change between makers and Android versions: search Settings for “color filter” or “color lens”.
Mac
- Apple menu › System Settings › Accessibility › Display.
- Switch on Color filters and set Filter type to Color tint.
- Choose a red as the tint color and drag Intensity all the way up.
- Turn it off the same way, or add Color filters to the Accessibility Shortcuts panel (Option-Command-F5) for one-step switching.
Windows
- Windows has no red screen filter, so the whole desktop cannot turn red.
- The closest is Settings › System › Display › Night light: switch it on and drag Strength all the way up for a deep amber.
- Press Windows + A and lower the brightness as far as you can read.
- For a true red, use this page in full screen: Night vision or Night red, as dim as you like.
Get a free red screen light in one click
The red screen on Black Screen Online is a free tool that fills your whole screen with red. Press Start red screen, press F, or double-tap the preview on a phone, with no sign-up. Dim the red to just 1% for stargazing or a dark bedroom. The Red night page turns the whole page dark red, so it never lights up your room. Did your own screen turn red by itself? See Why is my screen red?
Updated October 13, 2026
1%
The dimmest red, for a dark room
6 setups
One tap for each job
8 reds
Pure red to night red
Free
No install, no sign-up
How do you use the red screen?
A red screen takes three steps:
Pick a light from the cards, such as Night vision or Sleep light, or skip this step.
Press Start red screen. Red fills your whole screen, starting with Pure red (#FF0000).
Press Esc, or tap Exit, when you are done.
Escback to the page
Keyboard and touch controls
- ← →In full screen, ← and → change the shade. ↑ and ↓ change the brightness, 5% at a time, then 1% at a time below 10%.
- LockOn a phone, tap Lock so stray taps change nothing, then press and hold the screen to unlock it.
Your settings are remembered
Next time, the page opens with your last setup, and Reset to default starts fresh.
What can you use a red screen for? Six setups
A red screen is used as a dim light at night, a sleep light, a darkroom light, a bold background and a check for broken dots. Each job has its own setup under Pick a light. Lights for: Computer / Phone or tablet shows only the setups that fit your device.
| Setup | Shows on | Settings | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure red | Computer, phone, tablet | Pure red #FF0000, stays on | The brightest red your screen can show |
| Night vision | Computer, phone, tablet | Dark red #8B0000 at 15%, red night page on | Stargazing, camping, reading a map |
| Red flashlight | Phone or tablet | Pure red, stays on, taps locked | A tent, a campsite, a night walk |
| Sleep light | Computer, phone, tablet | Soft red #FF4444 at 20%, closes after 30 minutes | Falling asleep or a night feed |
| Darkroom | Computer, phone, tablet | Safelight red #CC0000 at 40%, red night page on | Black-and-white printing |
| Check red pixels | Computer | Pure red with thin lines | Finding a broken dot |
Each card has a ? tip and shows Changed once you edit it. Under the cards, Also useful has three shortcuts: Download an image, Use a second monitor and Make your phone red.
Pure red
Computer, phone, tabletBest for: the brightest red your screen can show
Pure red: a red background and photo light
Pure red is the strongest red your screen can make, and it works as a bold background for a product, a slide or a party. Photographers use it like a red gel over a lamp: point a tablet at a face, and it casts a red glow for a moody photo, a TikTok clip or a video call. Add a blue light on the other side for the popular red and blue look.
Red flashlight
Phone or tabletBest for: a tent, a campsite, a night walk
Red flashlight: a red light on your phone
Red flashlight shows only on phones and tablets. It keeps pure red on and locks taps, so the light won't change in your hand. Use it to find the zip of a tent or walk to the car at night without blinding anyone. For stargazing, Night vision is dimmer and better.
Check red pixels
ComputerBest for: finding a broken dot
Check red pixels: find a broken dot
Check red pixels shows pure red with thin lines. On pure red, only the red part of each dot on your screen lights up. A broken dot shows up black, and the lines help you find it. Check the Green Screen and Blue Screen too, since a dot can fail in one color only.
A broken dot on red
How does a red screen keep your night vision?
Red light keeps your night vision because the parts of your eyes that see in the dark hardly react to it. These parts, called rods, need a chemical that bright light breaks down in seconds, while deep red light leaves it alone, as the National Park Service explains. Your eyes need at least 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the dark (the Park Service says 20 to 40), and one bright flash undoes it.
20 to 30 min
For your eyes to get used to the dark
1%
The lowest brightness
Night vision opens a dark red (#8B0000) at 15% brightness. Once your eyes adjust, dim it more with ↓ or the Brightness slider, which goes down to 1%. Even red light hurts night vision when it is bright, so use the dimmest red you can still see by.
The Red night page switch turns the whole page dark red, and the page remembers it, so no white page flashes at you next time. Night vision switches it on for you. Set your device to dark mode too, so other apps stay dark.
Opens in full screen at 15%. Press Esc to come back.
OLED screens
Many newer phones have an OLED screen, where each dot makes its own light, so a dim red stays truly dark.
LCD screens
Most computer monitors and some phones have an LCD screen, with a light behind every dot, so even Night red glows a little and can look orange.
When you need no light at all, use a black screen instead.
No light at all, for a fully dark room.
How do you turn your whole phone red at night?
To turn your whole phone red, switch on its own color filter: Color Filters on an iPhone, Color filter on a Samsung, or Color filters on a Mac. The red screen only turns this page red. Make your phone red shows every step for iPhone and iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.
Steps for iPhone and iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.
How to make your iPhone or iPad screen red
- Open Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size › Color Filters, switch it on and choose Color Tint.
- Drag Intensity and Hue all the way to the right.
- Open Settings › Accessibility › Accessibility Shortcut and tick Color Filters. Now a triple-click of the side (or Home) button turns red on and off.
- For a darker red, turn on Reduce White Point under Display & Text Size.
Apple's display guide shows the same settings. To turn the red off, triple-click again or switch Color Filters off.
How to make an Android phone red
On a Samsung, open Settings › Accessibility › Visibility enhancements › Color filter. Some models call it Vision enhancements or Color lens. Switch it on, choose red and raise the opacity (the strength), as Samsung's guide shows. Add it to Accessibility shortcuts to switch it in one move. Google Pixel and many other phones have no red filter: the warmest they go is Night Light at full strength, and Extra dim makes it darker. Names vary, so search Settings for "color filter".
Can a Mac or Windows screen turn red?
A Mac can: open System Settings › Accessibility › Display and switch on Color filters. Set Filter type to Color tint, pick a red and drag Intensity all the way up. Option-Command-F5 turns it on and off fast. Windows has no red filter, but Night light at full strength gives a deep amber, and Windows + A lowers the brightness. For a true red, use this page in full screen with Night vision.
A phone filter does the job of a red light screen protector, but it is free and switches off in one move. Some people keep it on all evening, because bright apps look dull in red and the phone gets easier to put down.
Phone turned red?
Why did my iPhone turn red, and how do I turn it off?
An iPhone usually turns red for one of two reasons. The first is a triple-click: when Color Filters is on the Accessibility Shortcut, three quick presses of the side button turn red on, so triple-click again. The second is StandBy, the clock that shows while your iPhone charges on its side. Apple says its Night Mode turns everything red in a dark room. Open Settings › StandBy and switch off Night Mode. Want a red clock on purpose? The Digital Clock has a red night look.
Can you use a red screen in a darkroom?
Yes, for black-and-white printing paper, as long as you test the paper first. Darkroom gives a safelight red (#CC0000) at 40% and turns on the red night page. A screen is not a real safelight, because a little of its light gets through the red. Kodak's darkroom guide warns that no safelight is safe forever, and that home-made red lights can fog paper. A coin test shows if your paper is safe:
#CC0000 at 40%
The Darkroom setup
Paper only
Color paper and film need total darkness
The coin test
- Set the screen where you will work, at the brightness you will use.
- Lay a coin on a sheet of printing paper under the screen.
- Wait about as long as a print takes, then develop the sheet.
- If you see the coin's outline, the light fogs that paper. Dim the screen or move it away, and test again.
A stricter test
For a stricter test, first give the paper a very short flash of light under the enlarger, just short of turning gray, so faint fog shows up sooner.
Safelight red at 40%. Test your paper first.
Color paper, color film and most black-and-white films need total darkness, so the red is for printing paper only.
Which red do you need? Dark red, bright red and more
A bright red screen suits a background or a photo, and a dark red screen suits the night. The Shade row in Open settings has 8 named reds:
Pure red
#FF0000
The brightest red, pixel checks, a flashlight
Bright red
#FF2400
A vivid red with a hint of orange
Soft red
#FF4444
Sleep light
Crimson
#DC143C
A deeper red that leans toward pink
Safelight red
#CC0000
Darkroom
Dark red
#8B0000
Night vision
Deep red
#5C0000
Darker still
Night red
#330000
The darkest red, for a very dark room
Pure red, #FF0000, is full red with no green and no blue, which is why only the red part of every dot lights up. Custom lets you pick any color, even one from anywhere on your screen. Copy this color code copies the code for a design or a slide.
Is a red screen better for sleep?
Red light and sleep
Yes, red light is gentler on sleep than white or blue light. Blue light strongly holds back melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy, while red light holds it back far less, as the Sleep Foundation explains. The research is still early, so think of red as a kinder light, not a cure.
Sleep light
Sleep light gives a soft red (#FF4444) at 20% for bedtime or a night feed, and it closes by itself after 30 minutes. Keep it dim, since even red can disturb sleep when it is bright, and put the phone away when you can.
Soft red at 20%. It turns off after 30 minutes.
This is not red light therapy: a screen's red is far too weak, and it is not the light that therapy lamps use.
Download a red screen background, image or video
The Download tab saves this red as a red screen background or wallpaper.
Choose 1920 x 1080 Full HD, 2560 x 1440 2K, 3840 x 2160 4K, 1280 x 720 HD or 1080 x 1920 Phone. Or type your own Width and Height, up to 7680 pixels.
Save it as a PNG, JPG or WebP, at full brightness and in your shade.
Every download:
- Saved at full brightness
- Keeps your shade
- Up to 7680 pixels wide
Red screen video
For Pure red, Download as a video opens Black Screen Video with red already chosen. You don't need a 10-hour red video, though: with Keep screen on, the red screen stays on as long as you like.
Get the picture
Opens the Download tab in the tool above.
Second monitor, phone, timer and flash
Second monitor and phone
Choose a monitor fills your other screen with red while you work on this one. Or press Open a new window, drag it to the other monitor and press F11. Send to phone shows a QR code that opens the red on your phone with the same shade, brightness and size. Share setup copies a link with your settings.
Timer and screen on
Turn off after closes the red after 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes, or 1, 2, 4 or 8 hours. Keep screen on stops your device from going to sleep while the red is open.
Flash and pulse
Flash and pulse has three choices. Steady stays still, Pulse rises and falls, and Flash blinks 1, 2 or 3 times a second, never more.
Three a second is the limit in the W3C accessibility guidelines, which also say people react even more to red flashes. Flash asks first and starts only after you press I understand, use Flash; it runs only in full screen, and Esc stops it.
Lines and split
Lines and split adds a Thin, Medium or Wide grid, and it can also show Half black, side by side or Half black, top and bottom. Neither is saved in a download.
Why is my screen red? Red tint and the red screen of death
A screen that turns red by itself has a setting switched on or a fault.
On a phone
On a phone, a color filter is the usual cause. On an iPhone, see the triple-click and StandBy steps above. On a Samsung, switch off Color filter in Accessibility, as Samsung's guide says.
On a computer
On a computer, a red or orange tint often comes from Night light or Night Shift at full strength, so turn those off first. Then unplug the screen cable at both ends and plug it back in firmly. If that does not help, try another cable or port. A loose cable can drop a color and turn the screen red or pink. To check, open a white screen: if the white looks pink or red, a color is missing.
Red screen of death
The red screen of death is a computer crashing to a full red screen. It often points to the graphics driver, the software that runs your screen, or to a hardware fault. Restart, update the graphics driver, and undo any new part or speed boost (overclock). If an iPhone freezes on red, force restart it. If the red keeps coming back, contact the maker's support.
A quick way to see if a color is missing.
Other color screens
Red is one of four color screens on Black Screen Online.
Gives a bright, warm or cool white for tracing or video calls.
Gives the green that video apps swap for a new background.
Offers six blues for a backdrop or a soft light, or any blue you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Is the red screen free, and does it use my camera or files?
Yes, the red screen is free, with no account, no sign-up and nothing to install. It runs in your web browser on a computer, phone or tablet, and it never uses your camera, microphone or photos. The only camera involved is your own phone's, when it scans the Send to phone QR code. Bookmark the page, and your red light is one click away next time.
Does a red screen save battery?
A dim red can save battery on a phone with an OLED screen, since only the red part of each dot lights up. On an LCD screen, the light behind the dots stays on whatever the color, so brightness matters far more than the shade. On any phone, a lower brightness saves the most, so Night vision at 15% uses much less power than Pure red at full.
Is a red screen bad for your eyes?
No. Eye strain from screens does not cause lasting damage, says the American Academy of Ophthalmology. A long stare can still leave your eyes tired or dry, because you blink less. The Academy suggests the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. In a dark room, a dim red feels much gentler than a bright white page.
Why does my phone's red filter look orange?
Night Shift on an iPhone, Night Light on Android and Eye comfort on a Samsung only make the screen warmer. At full strength they reach a deep amber, never a true red. For real red, use Color Tint on an iPhone, the red Color filter on a Samsung, or this page.
Can I put a red screen on a TV or projector?
Yes, when the TV or projector is plugged into your computer as a second screen. Choose a monitor sends the red straight to it while you keep working on your laptop. Open a new window works too: drag it onto the TV and press F11. A big red screen makes a bold backdrop for a party or a stage.
Ready for a red light?
One click, no install, no sign-up. Press Esc whenever you want to come back.