Use the color filters to make your iPhone/iPad black and white

Use the color filters to make your iPhone/iPad black and white

Did you ever question whether you could turn your iPhone's screen into black and white? Maybe you would like that because you prefer a grayscale screen rather than a colored one. Or maybe you use your iPhone mostly for reading rather than looking at pictures or videos, in which case a black and white screen is a better option for your eyes. What about people who are color blind and can understand things better if they are in grayscale than in color? Whatever your reason might be, here is how to turn your iPhone or iPad into black and white:

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Step 1. Open the Accessibility Display Accommodations settings on your iPhone or iPad

To be able to make your iPhone or iPad display everything in grayscale, you must turn on the Grayscale color filter found in the Accessibility settings. To start, you must first open the Settings, by tapping its shortcut icon found on the home screen.

The Settings icon on an iPhone's screen
The Settings icon on an iPhone's screen

In the Settings app, scroll until you reach the General section and tap on it.

The General settings on an iPhone
The General settings on an iPhone

In the General list of settings, tap Accessibility.

The Accessibility settings on an iPhone
The Accessibility settings on an iPhone

Now look for an entry called Display Accommodations. When you find it, tap on it.

The Display Accommodations settings on an iPhone
The Display Accommodations settings on an iPhone

The Display Accommodations settings include one that is called Color Filters. By default, it should say that it is Off. Tap to open it.

The Color Filters entry in iOS
The Color Filters entry in iOS

Step 2. Turn on the Grayscale color filter on your iPhone or iPad

The Color Filters shows how your screen displays colors, depending on what color filter is currently selected.

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By default, no color filter should be On, meaning that you can see all the colors available on the screen. We are going to change that and make everything black and white: tap on the Color Filters switch to turn it On.

The Color Filters switch in iOS
The Color Filters switch in iOS

Your iPhone should now show you a couple of different color filters (designed for people who are color blind) that you can use on it. The first one of them is the Grayscale color filter and it is also automatically enabled when you turn On the Color Filters. If it is not, make sure you select it from the list by tapping on its name.

Enabling the Grayscale Color Filter on an iPhone
Enabling the Grayscale Color Filter on an iPhone

Your iPhone or iPad should now display everything in Grayscale mode, which means that all is black and white. 🙂

NOTE: Although the last screenshot we used is still colored, on an iPhone it is actually in grayscale. That is because even if iOS applies Color Filters to its display, the screenshots are still taken in color.

How to make your iPhone or iPad display all the colors again

To go back and make your iPhone or iPad be colored again, all you have to do is follow the same steps from the previous section and disable the Color Filters.

Disabling the Color Filters in iOS
Disabling the Color Filters in iOS

Do you prefer having your iPhone or iPad in black and white?

Some people prefer black and white to color. Regardless of whether you just like things in black and white, are color blind, or want to be less attracted to your screen, now you know how to do it. Do you enjoy grayscale more than color? Share your reasons for wanting that on your iPhone or iPad, in the comments section below.

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