Screen Flashlight
Press Turn on flashlight to fill the whole screen with bright light. Pick white, warm white or a colour, dim it for night use, and the page keeps your screen awake while the light is on.
⚠ Flashing light can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.
- Max brightness: turn your device's own brightness all the way up and switch off auto-brightness.
- Night Shift / Night Light tints white light yellow. Turn it off for pure white.
- Low power mode may dim the screen. Plug in for long sessions.
How to use the Screen Flashlight
- Choose a colour: white for maximum light, warm white for a softer glow, red to keep your night vision.
- Set the brightness and, if you like, a mode (blink or SOS) and an auto-off timer.
- Press Turn on flashlight. The light fills the screen and the screen stays awake.
- Turn your device's own brightness to maximum for the strongest light.
- Tap the light to show the controls, then press Turn off, or press Esc on a computer.
Getting the most light from your screen
A web page can show a full-screen white image, but only your device controls the backlight. These settings make the biggest difference:
| Device | Set brightness to maximum | Also turn off |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone / iPad | Swipe down from the top-right corner and drag the brightness slider up | Night Shift, True Tone, Auto-Brightness (Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size) |
| Android | Swipe down twice and drag the brightness slider to the right | Adaptive brightness, Night Light / Eye comfort |
| Windows laptop | Press the brightness-up key, or Win + A and use the slider | Night light, Battery saver |
| Mac | Press the brightness-up key or use Control Center | Night Shift, "Slightly dim the display on battery" |
Which colour to use
- White: the most light. Best for finding things, reading or lighting your face on a video call.
- Warm white: softer and more flattering, good as a bedside or reading light.
- Daylight: slightly blue-white, close to the colour of a cloudy sky, useful for checking colours.
- Red at low brightness: keeps your night vision for stargazing, camping or checking on a sleeping baby.
- Amber: less blue light in the evening and less attractive to insects outdoors.
- Green or blue: fun mood or party lighting, or a coloured accent light for photos.
SOS and flashing modes
SOS in Morse code is three short flashes, three long flashes and three short flashes (· · · − − − · · ·). This tool uses a 200 ms unit: short flashes last 1 unit, long flashes 3 units, with 1 unit between flashes, 3 units between letters and 7 units before the pattern repeats. Slow blink flashes once per second, and strobe is capped at 3 flashes per second, the limit in the WCAG accessibility guidelines for avoiding seizures.
Using your screen as a video call light
Open this page on a second device, such as a tablet or old phone, choose warm white and place it behind or just above your webcam, slightly to one side. A light in front of you removes shadows and makes the camera pick a lower, less noisy sensitivity. Lower the brightness if your face looks washed out.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make the screen brighter?
A web page cannot change your device's backlight, so turn the system brightness to maximum: swipe down for Control Center or Quick Settings on a phone, or use the brightness keys on a laptop. Turning off auto-brightness and night shift or night light also helps.
Will the screen turn off while the light is on?
In browsers that support the Screen Wake Lock API (Chrome, Edge, Safari 16.4 and later, Samsung Internet) the page keeps the screen awake. Otherwise your normal screen timeout applies, so set it longer in your settings.
Is a screen flashlight as bright as the camera flash?
No. A phone's LED flash is much brighter and better for lighting distant objects. A screen light is softer and wider, which is ideal for reading in the dark, finding things in a bag, or as a fill light on video calls.
Why use red light?
Red light preserves your eyes' dark adaptation, so you can still see the stars or move around a dark room afterwards. Astronomers and campers use dim red light for this reason.
Is the strobe mode safe?
Flashing light can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. The strobe here is limited to 3 flashes per second, the threshold used in accessibility guidelines, but avoid flashing modes if you or anyone nearby is sensitive.
Does it drain the battery?
A full-brightness screen uses more power than usual, typically a few percent per 10 minutes on a phone. The auto-off timer helps if you might fall asleep with it on.