Turning on grayscale mode iPhone-wide is quick: go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Display & Text Size, tap Color Filters, turn it on and choose Grayscale. Add it to the Accessibility Shortcut to switch it with a triple-click. Small studies suggest grayscale trims screen time a little, but it may not stop the habit of checking.
Grayscale is one of the Color Filters in Accessibility settings. Per Apple Support:
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Display & Text Size.
Tap Color Filters.
Turn on Color Filters.
Tap Grayscale.
Apple's support article lists Grayscale as one of four preset filters. Apple also notes that color filters can change the look of images and videos, and that you can drag any slider that appears to adjust intensity or hue.
To turn grayscale off, go back to the same screen and turn off Color Filters.
Gray all day can be a lot, especially when you need maps or photos. Apple says Invert Colors and Color Filters can be quickly turned on or off with the Accessibility Shortcut. To set it up:
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Accessibility Shortcut.
Select Color Filters.
Triple-click the side button (on an iPhone with Face ID) or the Home button (on other iPhone models).
Apple notes that if you select only one feature, it turns on or off immediately when you use the shortcut. If you select more than one, you tap the feature you want from a short menu. Because the shortcut switches Color Filters as a whole, choose Grayscale as your filter first.
Apple lists other quick options too. You can add accessibility controls to Control Center, or double- or triple-tap the back of iPhone to open an accessibility feature of your choice.
The idea is simple: bright colors make icons, badges and feeds more eye-catching, so removing color may make the phone a little less tempting. A few researchers have tested it.
A two-week tracking study. In a study published in Mobile Media & Communication, researchers tracked the phone use of 84 adults for two weeks: a normal week first, then a week in grayscale. Daily screen time fell by about 20 minutes, but the number of daily unlocks did not change, which the authors read as a sign of deep-rooted checking habits. Grayscale also improved people's sense of control over their phone use and reduced perceived overuse, online vigilance and stress. It did not change productivity or sleep quality.
There are limits. Everyone followed the same schedule, so there was no separate group that kept color the whole time. Only Android users took part, and the grayscale period lasted one week. On average, participants found grayscale rather annoying, and many did not realize it had cut their screen time. About one-third said they would never use it again, while roughly half said they would use it at least sometimes.
A short experiment. A 2023 study in Computers in Human Behavior Reports asked people to keep grayscale on for at least 24 hours. Of 240 people who took the first questionnaire, 92 completed the follow-up, and the authors report that grayscale decreased usage time. They also found that problematic use, time on the phone and how much people felt they suffered from it were linked.
The takeaway: grayscale is a small, free nudge. It may shave some minutes off your day, but on its own it does not seem to break the habit of picking the phone up.
Worth trying when you scroll feeds out of habit, in the evening, or during a study or work block where you want the phone to feel dull.
Less useful when the pull comes from alerts. Turning off non-essential notifications tackles that more directly.
Annoying for maps, photos, shopping or color-coded calendars. That is what the triple-click shortcut is for.
Works alongside Night Shift. Apple notes that Night Shift removes inverted colors and color filter effects, except grayscale.
Check your other filters. Color Filters also include options to adjust colors for color vision deficiencies. If you rely on one of those, think twice before swapping it for grayscale.
You can run a mini version of the study yourself:
For one normal week, note your daily screen time from your phone's weekly report.
For the next week, leave grayscale on and use the triple-click only when you truly need color.
Compare the two weeks. Also notice how often you still pick the phone up without a reason.
Example schedule: grayscale on from 9:00 p.m., when you sit down for the evening, and back to color in the morning when you need maps. This is only an example, so adjust it to the times your scrolling actually happens.
If you want more ideas beyond grayscale, our sister site has a guide on how to use your phone less.
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Display & Text Size, tap Color Filters and turn off Color Filters. If you set up the Accessibility Shortcut, a triple-click also switches it off.
Check whether Color Filters is on with Grayscale selected. If Color Filters is in your Accessibility Shortcut, a triple-click of the side or Home button can switch it on without you meaning to.
In the two-week study above, daily screen time fell by about 20 minutes, while daily unlocks stayed the same. Results will vary from person to person.
In that study, grayscale did not change sleep quality. For evening screens, brightness and timing matter more. See our sister site's guide to blue light and sleep.
Grayscale makes apps less eye-catching, but in the study above it did not change how often people unlocked their phones. FocusPass: App Blocker adds a pause at the app itself: it blocks the apps, categories or websites you choose with Apple's Screen Time picker, and when you open one you can go back or use a timed Pass that relocks automatically when it ends. It is free with in-app purchases, with no account and no ads.
Get FocusPass free on the App Store
Quickly turn accessibility features on or off on iPhone (Apple Support)
Use display and text size preferences on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (Apple Support)