How to use the black screen
Press Full-screen black (or click the preview, or press F). The page asks the browser for true full screen and hides the cursor after a moment, leaving nothing on the display but black. Move the mouse or tap to bring back the control bar: arrows step to other colours, − and + change brightness, the padlock locks touch and the cross closes. With a keyboard, ← and → change colour, C shows or hides the clock, L locks, and Esc closes.
The black is pure #000000 with no overlay or transparency. On an OLED or AMOLED screen — most recent phones, many laptops and TVs — that means the pixels are physically switched off: no light, almost no power. On an LCD the backlight stays on behind the black, so it glows slightly, which is exactly why black is the colour to use for spotting backlight bleed.
Your choices are remembered on this device, and Copy link to this screen gives you an address that reopens the same settings. Nothing is uploaded, and once loaded the page works with no connection.
Why people put a black screen up
| Use | Settings | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Make a screen look switched off | Black, keep awake on, touch lock | For a presentation pause, a shop display or a screen that must stay logged in. |
| Bedside or night clock | Black, dim clock, close after 1–2 hours | The clock is mid-grey on black and moves a little every minute. |
| Focus or meditation | Black, timer to the length of the session | Removes every notification and visual distraction from that screen. |
| Second monitor while gaming or watching | Black on the side screen | Cuts glare and reflections without unplugging the monitor. |
| Light-bleed and glow check | Black, dark room, display at full brightness | Light leaking at the edges or corners shows straight away on an LCD. |
| Cleaning | Black, then white | Streaks and smears show on black; dust on white. |
For a full panel check with patterns, pixel marking and a stuck-pixel fixer, use the dead pixel test. If you need light rather than darkness, the white screen has the same controls with warm and cool tones.
Black screens, OLED power and burn-in
An OLED panel makes its own light pixel by pixel, so a black pixel uses next to no power and a full-black screen draws only what the electronics need. Measurements on phones typically show a dark interface saving a large share of display power at high brightness, and far less at low brightness, because the display is only one part of the battery drain. On an LCD a black screen saves very little, because the backlight stays on; turning brightness right down saves more.
Burn-in on an OLED comes from bright, unchanging shapes shown for hundreds of hours — status bars, logos, game HUDs. A plain black screen cannot cause it, because the pixels are off. The optional clock is the only lit element, so it is kept dim grey and drifts to a new position every minute, spreading the wear over many pixels instead of the same few. If you use it as a bedside clock every night, that drift is what keeps it safe.
To stop the device locking while the black screen is up, leave Keep the screen awake on: it uses the browser's wake lock, which some browsers release when you switch tabs and the page requests again when you return. Battery-saver modes can override it.
Downloads, timers and browser limits
Download PNG saves a black image (or whichever colour you chose) at your screen's native resolution, HD, Full HD, QHD, 4K, 8K, phone, tablet or a custom size up to 16,384 pixels a side. A single-colour PNG is only a few kilobytes even at 8K, so it makes a clean OLED-friendly wallpaper or a black video background. Very large sizes may run out of memory on older phones; the page tells you if that happens.
The Close after timer counts from the wall clock, so it closes on time even if the tab was throttled in the background, and gives a short beep where sound is allowed. Safari on iPhone does not let pages hide the address bar completely, so the black fills the visible page with the bar still showing; rotate to landscape and scroll it away. To learn what refresh rate your screen runs at, try the refresh rate test.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make my screen go completely black?
Press Full-screen black, click the preview or press F. The browser goes full screen, the cursor hides and the whole display turns black. Move the mouse or tap to show the controls, and press Esc or the close button to leave. On iPhone the Safari address bar stays visible, so scroll it away or rotate to landscape.
Does a black screen save battery?
On an OLED or AMOLED screen, yes: black pixels are switched off and use almost no power, so a full-black screen draws far less than a bright page, especially at high brightness. On an LCD the backlight stays on behind the black, so the saving is small — lowering the brightness setting saves more there.
Can a black screen cause burn-in?
No. Burn-in on OLED panels comes from bright static shapes shown for a very long time, and black pixels are off. The optional clock is the only lit element, so it is dim grey and drifts to a new position every minute so no group of pixels stays lit for long.
How do I stop taps or my pocket from closing the black screen?
Turn on Lock touch, or press L or tap the padlock while the black screen is up. Taps and swipes are then ignored. To unlock, press L or hold one finger on the screen for two seconds. Pair it with Keep the screen awake so the phone does not lock itself.
Can I show a clock on the black screen?
Yes. Tick Show a dim drifting clock before you start, or press C while the black screen is showing. The clock uses your device's time in 24-hour format, is dim mid-grey so it does not light the room, and moves slightly every minute to protect OLED screens.
Why does my black screen look grey or glow at the edges?
That is your LCD's backlight. Black on an LCD blocks most but not all of the light, so some glow, especially at the edges and corners (backlight bleed) or at an angle (IPS glow), is normal. Lower the display brightness to reduce it. OLED screens do not glow because their black pixels are off.