Blue Light Filter on Android or Night Mode is a feature in smartphones that lowers the blue light emitted from mobile devices and keeps our eyes free from strain and stress. This blue light that brightens up the screen of our mobile devices and gives up the best picture quality has a wavelength similar to the Sun at noontime. We can’t look at the Sun with our naked eyes but tend to spend at least 4 hours on our mobile devices every day. This is clearly damaging our eyes and one of the most common reasons for frequent headaches.
I am not discouraging anyone from using your precious mobile phones but suggesting a new way to look at them. To prevent damage to our eyes and decrease stress from our brain, it is of the utmost importance that everyone enables night mode on their mobile phones, especially while indoors or after sunset. If your device manufacturer has not included this feature in your device, you can install certain apps to reduce our eyes’ strain.
Why Do We Need A Blue Light Filter In Android?
The number of people facing issues with their eyes is constantly rising; the world is becoming digital. While it is beneficial and easier to have a paperless approach, care must be taken to our eyes. The modern lifestyle includes using TVs, Laptops, e-reader tablets, desktops, and mobiles, which can replace all the above. Considering this, the mobile manufacturers have started to inculcate features that melatonin reduces the stress on our eyes and hamper melatonin production, a hormone that induces sleep. Sleepless nights can be accounted for by using your mobile devices for a long time before you sleep. The major harmful effects of using a smartphone without the blue light filter for eye care are:
Eyes: Strain, Tiredness, dry eyes, Vision issues.
Brain: Headaches, Migraine Pain.
Sleep: Sleeplessness, lack of quality sleep, and Insomnia in some cases.
How To Apply The Blue Light Filter or Turn On Night Mode In Android?
One of the first OEMs to provide this feature was Huawei, which introduced a night mode which acted as a blue light blocker and labeled it as ‘Eye Protection Mode’. Google, soon realized the importance of this and after some research, integrated this feature in its mobile operating system, Android. The latest version, known as Android 10, has a fully functional night mode with a specially designed blue light filter for eye care.
Though all of us do not use the original stock Android operating system and have a customized version of the manufacturer’s operating system, we all have the option to turn on the blue light screen by going to Settings>Display>Night Mode. Most blue light filters can be scheduled to activate and deactivate by the cruiser’s custom settings. Here is a list of the commonly used Android phones:
Samsung Galaxy: Settings > Display > Blue Light Filter.
Google Pixel Phones: Settings > Display > Night Light.
LG Phones: Settings > Display > Comfort View.
HTC & OnePlus Phones: Settings > Display > Night Mode.
Huawei & Honor Phones: Settings > Display > Eye Care.
Motorola Phones: Settings > Display > Night Display.
Xiaomi Phones: Settings > Reading Mode.
Note: The ‘Night Mode’ might be labeled by different names like ‘Night Light’, ‘Reading Mode’ or something similar and be activated by tapping settings and choosing Display options in almost all the phones.
What Are The Best Blue Light Filter Apps For Android?
If your phone does not have a blue light filter for eye care, thanks to the thousands of Android app developers out there, there are many apps on Google Play Store that can resolve this issue. The smartphone users who have a blue light filter option can still try these apps as they are a bit more advanced than the default feature, which is simple and does not give the user many options to customize or choose from.
Blue light Filter –
This app is almost similar to the default night mode functionality found in most Android devices. Still, it provides users with an option to choose the filter color from the Seven shades available. The default feature acts as a blue light blocker and increases one color shade only. It also allows the user to place shortcuts on the home screen, enable a notification widget related to the app, and set a timer for activation/deactivation of the blue light filter.
To download this app, click here.
Midnight –
It is an app designed to act as a blue light filter for eye care and does not contain any ads. It provides the user four options (black, red blue, and yellow) to control the screen’s temperature does not have the Sunrise- Sunset feature but allows the users to schedule the night mode’s time duration. Once activated, it does automatically dim the screen in a dark environment.
To download this app, click here.
Dimly –
This app has many features along with the primary task of acting as a blue light blocker. However, it has many ads, which can be avoided by purchasing the paid version. It has a unique feature that allows the user to deactivate the Night mode by physically shaking the device. This is very important if the brightness is set to lowest, especially outdoors, and devices’ visibility comes down to zero. Using this, you can reduce the blue light on the screen of your Android device.
To download this app, click here.
Night Screen –
This is an efficient app that reduces the blue light of your mobile. It is paid and has many features inculcated into it. But the main feature is free of cost and just requires a tap to reduce the blue light and protect your eyes. Blue light on screen is very harmful and prolonged use of mobile devices in the dark can be adversely affected.
To download this app, click here.
Bluelight Filter for Eye Care – Auto screen filter –
Bluelight Filter for eye care is another of the Android applications to help you. It comes with several modes to work with – Sleep mode, schedule mode. Scheduling the time will turn on the blue light filter on your Android device automatically each day. Plus, you can adjust the screen color with this app to make it less harmful for the eyes.
To download this app, click here.
If you want to try something else like a Back and White phone, then you can tap the developer options and search for the ‘Simulate Colour Space’ option and tap on it. It would give you certain options, choose ‘Monochrome’ mode and your phone will turn Black and White instantly. Play something from YouTube and feel the era of Black and White television in the 40s. Of course, you follow the same steps and choose ‘Disabled’ to return things to normal.
Can We Apply The Blue Light Filter on eReader Apps?
Those who have ditched the paperbacks or the hardcovers have switched to the digital form of reading through e-readers or tablets. It is more important to activate the blue light filter for eye care on your device to ease the strain on your eyes, especially during your nighttime reading. The use of blue light filter will help reduce eye strain but other adverse effects such as headaches due to staring at the screen. The best e-reader apps with blue light blockers are:
Moon+
An efficient eBook reader helps you switch between day and night mode and reduce the strain on your eyes.
To download this app, click here.
Google Play Books-
Developed by one of the software giants, Google, this app allows the user to use the night settings. To adjust the background color and brightness automatically and hence make readers sleep without stress. Use of blue light filter can be helpful for long-run readers.
To download this app, click here.
Is There A Solution for Blue Light Filter On Windows 10 PC?
The blue light filter for Windows 10 was developed by Microsoft and rolled out as updates in 2017. It is included as one of the system features and is labeled as ‘Night Light.’ Reducing blue light on the monitor, which once activated can shift the Windows 10 display to show warm colors, reducing blue light emission.
To turn on the blue light filter on the PC, follow these steps mentioned below:
Step 1. Press the Windows button and the letter ‘I’ on your keyboard to open the Settings window.
Step 2. Click on System from the various setting options.
Step 3. Click on Display from the list on the left side.
Step 4. Locate Night Light in the right section and toggle the switch from OFF to ON.
Step 5. Click on Night Light Settings beneath the toggle button.
Step 6. You can click on the button to get a first-hand experience of what the Night Light would look like once activated.
Step 7. You can increase or decrease the warmth of the colors, your sleep quality
Step 8. The last option is to set a schedule for automatically enabling Night Light.
The first look at your screen with Night Light mode turned ON might be disturbing, and it will take some time to adjust your eyes. You may decrease the warmth for better viewing and remember that too much blue light can disturb your circadian rhythm and decrease the quality of your sleep. These are steps used for reducing blue light on Monitor on Windows PC.
How About MacOS? Does It Contain Any Blue Light Screen?
Of course, it does; you are talking about Apple. Launched in 2017, around the same time as Microsoft, Apple’s blue light filter mode is called Night Shift, which is very easy to activate/deactivate.
Step 1. Open System Preferences.
Step 2. Choose Displays, and then select the ‘Night Shift’ tab.
Step 3. Choose the schedule and the intensity of the warmth of the colors.
Is There Any Third-party Software Designed To Act As A Blue Light Filter?
Similar to Android, many programs can be used to act as a blue light blocker. The best ones who can run on both Windows 10, macOS, and even Linux operating systems are:
F.lux. This tool can track the solar movement in your location and monitor the blue light filter for eye care accordingly on your PC. It also provides exceptions for Games and photo editing software as these can only be worked with uncompromised light. It also has a feature to integrate with your home’s smart lighting system and can adjust them as well.
Iris Mini. A lightweight application acts as a blue light filter and does not have a user interface, buttons, or confusing options. It can still adjust the monitor’s blue light and filter it out to protect your eyes.
Finally, a blue light filter iPhone?
NIGHT SHIFT
Apple was the first to realize the issue and introduced a blue light filter for iPhone in their iOS 9.3 as a default feature. Apple stated that the smartphone display uses the RGB concept of presenting all colors on your screen. RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue light to exhort a large amount of blue light suitable for daytime use. But the same is not suitable overnight and causes issues with our eyes and sleep patterns.
To filter out the blue light in Apple phones, go to the settings and choose Display & Brightness and select the Night Shift feature. You can schedule the time for the blue light filter in the iPhone to remain activated and increase or decrease the color temperature as they require.
Blue Light Filter: the final word
Finding new technology and features is my hobby and searching for blue light filters was one of the options I discovered on all devices but did not understand the importance of using it until now. Even though there is nothing wrong with my eyes but the instant feeling of relaxation I felt while turning this feature on me to discover what more had been innovated regarding Blue Light Blockers. Once I turned off the blue light filter, I felt a strain on my eyes, and they took time to adjust back to the bright blue light on my mobile screen.
If your phone, tablet, or laptop has a blue light filter inculcated as a default feature, I suggest you activate it once, and you will find that the difference is instant and noticeable. It can be turned off as easily as it was turned on. Downloading and Installing from the Google Play Store is not a difficult task, and you can try one of the above-mentioned apps. Remember, once you activate the night mode, you may feel that the low brightness would appear to be a bit of blinding. Allow some time to adjust and use it especially before going to sleep. A phone dimmed with night mode will not be too harsh on your eyes early in the morning when you wake up and will save battery power throughout the night.