Sometimes I switch my iPhone to grayscale, and now I've set up my Mac the same way. Here's how to do it on a Mac, and on iPhone, Android, Windows and Chromebook.
Why grayscale
Color is one of the main tools apps use to keep you scrolling: red notification badges, bright thumbnails and colorful icons. Take the color away and the screen gets boring, and a boring screen is easier to walk away from.
There's some research behind this. In a 2020 study, 161 college students had their screen time measured, and 73 of them set their phones to grayscale for 8 to 10 days. The grayscale group used their phones about 38 minutes a day less than at the start, with less social media and web browsing. A follow-up study from the same researchers, with 133 students, found that the grayscale group had less trouble controlling their phone use and a small drop in anxiety. In a 2023 study of 84 young adults, screen time fell about 20 minutes a day in the grayscale week, and people said they felt less stressed and more in control of their phone use. And in a 2026 study, 51 medical students spent one week in grayscale and one week in color. In their color week they averaged almost six hours a day on their phones, and in their grayscale week about 28 minutes a day less.
Mac
On a Mac, grayscale is one of Apple's Color Filters, in the accessibility settings.
Turn it on in System Settings
- Click the Apple menu in the top left corner, then System Settings.
- Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then Display on the right.
- Go to Color Filters and turn on Color filters.
- Click the Filter type menu and choose Grayscale.
There's also an Intensity slider. I set mine about halfway, so a little color still comes through. It helps me tell things apart on the screen, and everything is still a lot less colorful.
Switch it from Control Center or the menu bar
This needs macOS Tahoe 26 or later.
- Click the Control Center icon at the top right of your screen. It looks like two small switches.
- Click Edit Controls.
- Type color filters in the search box.
- Drag the Color Filters button into Control Center, then click Done.
From then on, it takes two clicks: open Control Center, then click Color Filters. Click it again to go back to color. The button uses the filter you picked in System Settings, so choose Grayscale there first.
If you'd rather have it in the menu bar at the top of your screen, drag the Color Filters button there instead of into Control Center.
iPhone
- Open Settings, then tap Accessibility.
- Tap Display & Text Size.
- Tap Color Filters and turn on Color Filters.
- Tap Grayscale.
If you'd rather watch, I made a short video showing these steps.
To switch it quickly, go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and choose Color Filters. Then triple-click the side button to turn grayscale on or off. On an iPhone with a Home button, triple-click the Home button instead.
Android
Android has two separate grayscale switches: one in the accessibility settings, and one that's part of Bedtime mode. The menu names below are from Google's Pixel phones running Android 13 or later. Other phones may word them differently.
Turn it on in the accessibility settings
- Open Settings, then tap Accessibility.
- Tap Color and motion, then Color correction. On Android 14 it's under a heading that says Experimental.
- Turn on Use color correction.
- Tap Grayscale.
Color correction is a set of screen filters for people who have trouble telling some colors apart, and grayscale is one of them. When you turn it on, Android adds a Color correction button to Quick Settings, the panel you get by swiping down from the top of the screen. Tap it there to switch grayscale on and off.
Or have it come on with Bedtime mode
- Open Settings, then tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
- Tap Bedtime mode, then turn on Bedtime mode. You can have it run on a schedule or while the phone is charging.
- Tap Customize, then Screen options at bedtime.
- Turn on Grayscale.
The screen turns gray whenever Bedtime mode is on. Bedtime mode can also silence your phone with Do Not Disturb, so check its settings under Customize. On some newer phones, Bedtime is under Settings > Modes instead.
On Samsung Galaxy phones, grayscale is in two places: Settings > Modes and Routines > Sleep > Other actions, and Settings > Accessibility > Vision enhancements > Color correction.
Windows
These steps are for Windows 11.
- Select Start, then Settings, then Accessibility.
- Select Color filters and turn on Color filters.
- Choose Grayscale from the list. Grayscale inverted is a different filter.
On Windows 10, the path is Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Color filters.
Chromebook
- At the bottom right of the screen, select the time, then Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Under Display and magnification, turn on Color correction and pick grayscale. You can also adjust how strong the filter is.
On your kid's device
The steps are the same on a child's device. On iPhone, Mac and Android, there's no parental control setting that locks grayscale on, so your child can turn it back off.
On iPhone and Mac, grayscale lives in the accessibility settings, which Screen Time can't lock.
On Android, the Quick Settings button appears on its own when you turn on the accessibility switch, so whoever holds the phone can turn it off with one tap. On a phone you manage with Google Family Link, Android 15 and later move Bedtime mode under Parental controls, where your child can still change it. Family Link's own bedtime setting, Downtime, locks the phone instead of turning it gray.
On a kid's Mac or iPhone, I'd turn grayscale on through the settings and skip the Control Center button and the triple-click, which would make it just as easy for your kid to switch back to color.
I suggest trying it on your own devices first, before you ask your kids to. I think it can change computers to be more like tools and less like toys. Computers can be great toys and I love that, but for day to day, frequent use, I think they work better as tools. A week on your own devices shows you what the experience is like, so you can lead by example, and it gives you time to prepare your kids for the change. It's a great time to discuss why the change is being made, and I think that kids who understand the "why" are set up for success. After a week or so, turn it on for both of you, and talk about what you each notice after a few days.
If you're setting up your kid's iPhone, grayscale is one of the steps in my iPhone parental controls masterclass, along with the Screen Time settings you can lock.