Does grayscale actually work?
Grayscale does reduce screen time for many people, but the effect is modest. The best-tracked study found about 20 fewer minutes a day, not hours, and people unlocked their phones just as often. Think of grayscale as a way to make sessions shorter, not as a way to stop picking up the phone.
What did the studies measure?
In a study that tracked 84 participants' smartphone use for two weeks, Dekker and Baumgartner (2023) used the first week as a baseline and switched phones to grayscale in the second. Daily screen time dropped by about 20 minutes, yet daily unlocks stayed the same, which the authors read as a sign of deep-rooted checking habits. Participants also reported more perceived control over their phone use, but grayscale did not change their reported productivity or sleep quality.
An earlier study, Holte and Ferraro (2020), looked at college students and likewise reported that a grayscale setting reduced screen time. A later randomized trial by Olson et al. (2022) tested a package of ten nudges, including grayscale and disabling non-essential notifications, where participants chose which strategies to follow. That package lowered screen time compared with a group that only monitored its use, but because grayscale was one option among several, the trial cannot tell you how much of the effect came from grayscale alone.
Across these studies, a few limits are worth keeping in mind. The samples were small to moderate and often students. The grayscale periods were short. And people who sign up for a screen time study may be unusually motivated to cut back.
Why might grayscale make a difference?
Many apps rely on color to draw your eye: red badges, bright thumbnails, colorful video. Without color, feeds and games tend to look flatter and less inviting, which may make it easier to stop a session. That explanation is plausible but not proven. It also fits the finding that unlocks did not change: grayscale changes what you see after you pick up the phone, not the urge to pick it up.
The same logic tells you where grayscale will matter least. Text-heavy apps such as email, messaging and news sites look almost the same in black and white, so if those are your top apps, expect little change. Photo feeds and games arguably lean on color the most, so that is where a test seems most likely to show a difference, though the studies did not confirm this app by app.
A one-week grayscale test
Run your own test instead of relying on averages. It takes about ten minutes to set up.
- Record a baseline. Before switching, write down yesterday's total screen time, pickups and top three apps from Screen Time on an iPhone or Digital Wellbeing on Android.
- Turn on grayscale. On an iPhone, look in Accessibility settings for display or color filters. On Android, look for color correction or grayscale in Accessibility, or a grayscale option in Digital Wellbeing's bedtime or focus features. Menu names change between versions, so searching settings for "grayscale" or "color filters" is the quickest route.
- Add a shortcut. Set up an accessibility shortcut or quick-settings tile so you can switch color back on for photos, maps or anything color-coded. This keeps the test from becoming annoying enough to abandon.
- Live with it for seven days. Only switch back to color for a specific task, then switch grayscale on again.
- Compare. After a week, check the same three numbers. Look at the total and the top apps, not just whether you liked it.
Use this table to decide what to do next.
| What you see after a week |
What it suggests |
Next step |
| Total down, pickups the same |
Grayscale is shortening sessions |
Keep it and add notification cleanup for pickups |
| Total down in one app only |
That app relies on color to hold you |
Keep grayscale or use a limit on that app |
| No change at all |
Color is not your main hook |
Drop it and try logging out or an app limit |
| You kept switching color back on |
The setup is too disruptive |
Use grayscale only during your evening window |
When does the advice change?
If you need color for work or accessibility
Some jobs and tasks depend on color, such as design, photography, charts or color-coded calendars. Some people rely on color because of vision differences. Use grayscale only during a set window, such as evenings, or skip it and use other forms of friction.
If your problem is checking, not long sessions
If your pickups are high but sessions are short, grayscale is unlikely to be your best tool, because it did not reduce unlocks in the tracked study. Trimming notifications and batching the rest target the cues that trigger checking. See how to stop checking your phone constantly.
If you mostly use your phone at night
Grayscale can be part of an evening setup, but where the phone charges and what you do instead usually matter more. Our guide on how to use your phone less at night covers that routine.
If you are hoping for better sleep or mood
The tracked study found no change in reported sleep quality, and it measured only one week. Treat grayscale as a screen time tool, not a health intervention. If sleep or mood problems persist, talk with a health professional.
Where to go from here
Grayscale is day 10 of our 30-day screen time reduction plan, after notification cleanup and a daily phone-free window are already in place. That order reflects the evidence: grayscale shortens sessions, while other steps handle checking. For the full approach, read how to reduce screen time, build your own plan, or browse the phone and screen time hub.
