Black Screen
Turn your whole display pure black in one click. Use it to make a screen look switched off, to check for light leaking at the edges of a monitor, or to spot pixels that stay lit.
Black
100% is as bright as your screen allows.
Click the preview to fill your screen. Move the mouse or tap to show the controls, or choose Hide to keep them away until you click or tap. In full screen, use the left and right arrow keys to change color, the up and down arrow keys to change brightness, H to hide or show the controls, and Esc to exit.
What the black screen does
It fills your display with pure black (#000000) and hides everything else: the browser, the taskbar or dock, the controls, and the mouse pointer.
How dark it looks depends on your screen. An OLED screen switches its pixels off and looks completely off. An LCD keeps its backlight on, so the black glows slightly, and that glow is what you look at when checking a monitor for backlight bleed.
Why use our black screen
- ·Nothing left on screen. Hide the controls and the mouse pointer goes with them.
- ·Does not lock. In most current browsers the screen stays awake while the black screen is open.
- ·Black images. Download a black PNG in a video, phone, or custom size.
- ·Free and private. No signup, no download, and nothing leaves your browser.
How to make your screen go black
- 1
Start with black
Black is already selected on this page. You can lower the brightness slider, but pure black stays black.
- 2
Go full screen
Click the preview. The black covers your whole display, including the taskbar or dock.
- 3
Hide the controls
Choose Hide, or press H. The controls and the mouse pointer disappear, so nothing is left on screen.
- 4
Exit
Press Esc. With a mouse or touch screen, click or tap once to bring the controls back, then choose Exit.
Black screen on OLED and LCD screens
The same black page looks and behaves differently depending on the kind of screen you have:
| Screen | Found in | How black looks | Power used |
|---|---|---|---|
| OLED | Most recent phones, many TVs, some laptops and monitors | Truly black. The pixels switch off and the screen looks off. | Very little. Black pixels use almost no power. |
| LCD (including LED and IPS) | Most monitors and laptops, many budget phones and TVs | Very dark gray, with a faint glow from the backlight. | About the same as any other color, since the backlight stays on. |
How to check a monitor for backlight bleed
Backlight bleed is light from an LCD's backlight leaking around the edges of the panel. A black screen in a dark room is the standard way to see it.
- ·Turn off the lights and set the monitor to the brightness you normally use. Maximum brightness makes any screen look worse than it is in daily use.
- ·Open the black screen in full screen and hide the controls.
- ·Backlight bleed shows as brighter patches along the edges or in the corners that stay in the same place when you move your head.
- ·IPS glow is a silver or gray haze, usually in the corners, that changes or fades as you move your head or sit further back. It is normal for IPS monitors.
- ·Judge with your eyes, not a phone photo. Cameras brighten dark scenes and make bleed look much worse than it is.
A little bleed is common on LCD screens. OLED screens have no backlight, so they do not have bleed at all.
When to use a black screen
- ·Darken a second monitor. Black out a screen you are not using during a movie, a game, or at night, without unplugging it.
- ·Pause a presentation. Blank the projector or shared screen while you talk, then exit to pick up where you left off.
- ·Check a new monitor. Look for backlight bleed, and for stuck or hot pixels, which show as bright dots on black.
- ·Clean a screen. Dust and streaks catch the room light against a black screen, so you can see what is left to wipe.
- ·Video editing. Download a black PNG at your project's size for a blank frame or a background layer.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I make my screen completely black?
- Click the black preview above, then choose Hide or press H. The page goes full screen, and the controls and mouse pointer disappear, so your whole display shows nothing but black. Press Esc to leave.
- Does a black screen save battery?
- On an OLED screen, yes. Black pixels on OLED are switched off, so a full black screen uses far less power than a bright one. On an LCD screen the backlight stays on behind the black, so the saving is small. In both cases, turning the screen off or letting the device sleep saves more.
- Is a black screen the same as turning my screen off?
- No. The screen and the device stay on, and the page asks the browser to keep the screen from locking. On OLED it looks off because the pixels are dark. On LCD you can usually still see a faint glow from the backlight.
- Why does my black screen look gray or glow at the edges?
- Most monitors and laptops use an LCD, which has a backlight that never fully turns off. Some light always gets through, so black looks dark gray, and more light can leak at the edges or corners (backlight bleed). Lower your screen brightness and turn off room lights to judge it fairly.
- Will the black screen stop my computer from locking?
- While it is open in full screen, the page asks the browser to keep the screen awake. This works in recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox. It does not change your system settings, and the lock works as normal once you leave the page.
- How do I hide the mouse pointer on a black screen?
- Stop moving the mouse for a moment and the pointer hides along with the controls. To keep it hidden even when the mouse is moved, choose Hide or press H. A click brings the controls back.
- Can I download a black image?
- Yes. Under Download image, pick a size such as 1080p, 4K, or Phone (1080 × 1920), or type your own width and height up to 8000 pixels, and choose Download PNG. A black PNG is useful as a blank frame in a video, a placeholder background, or a black phone wallpaper.
- Why does the black screen not cover my whole iPhone screen?
- Browsers on iPhone do not let web pages switch to full screen. The black fills the browser window, but the address bar and toolbar can still show. On iPad and on computers it covers the whole display.
- Is this black screen free?
- Yes. There is no signup and nothing to install, and it runs entirely in your browser.