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What is grayscale?
Vibrant app icons and bright notifications aren’t just for looks—they're designed to grab your attention and keep you scrolling.
Studies have shown grayscale makes your phone much less addicting. Grayscale removes the dopamine-triggering colors that apps use to keep you hooked. Apps depend on the color to grab your attention.
By stripping away color, your phone becomes less stimulating, reducing the urge to check apps endlessly. It’s a simple yet powerful trick for cutting down screen time, especially when combined with Roots' phone detox features.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to automate grayscale mode at sunset so your phone shifts into a distraction-free state as the day winds down.
Steps to automate grayscale at sunset:
Open the "iOS Shortcuts" app
Go to "Automation > Tap +"
Select "Time of Day > Sunset"
Toggle OFF "Notify when run"
Tap "Add Action" (or "New Automation")
Search for "Set Color Filters > Select it"
Confirm "Color Filters ON, then tap Next"
Toggle off "Ask Before Running > Confirm Don't Ask > Tap Done"
Set to "Run Automatically"
(repeat all of these steps in for sunrise to disable it in the morning)
That’s it! 🌙 Now, every evening, your phone will shift to grayscale automatically—making nighttime scrolling way less tempting.
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Get personal help from one of our founders here. We know this can be frustrating, and we appreciate your patience. We're happy to assist—and we’ll even reward you for your valuable time!