BlackScreens

When it comes to a human’s five senses, the eyesight tends to be the most pivotal one, which raises concerns over how to protect it in the face of an increasingly display-dependent technological way of living.

As such, if your computer’s built-in blue light filter and your monitor’s hardware brightness settings do not suffice, a neat program known as BlackScreens can be the third active layer that uses software to create a darkened window with custom opacity that can reduce strain on the eyes and improve your sleep quality.

Once installed, users can interact with the app via its dedicated system tray icon to bring up a minimalist layout providing all the available options at your fingertips, thus removing the need to dig through a multitude of menus and sections to get to activate your desired features.

The program works by applying a semi-transparent, dark window overlay on top of the currently displayed image on your desktop, which is a cleaner and more elegant solution compared to installing proprietary and invasive drivers on your system that modify the monitor’s contrast.

In order to speed up the activation process, one can use a combination of the Alt and number row keys to toggle the function for all the connected displays, making the app a useful addition to setups of users with keyboard-focused workflows and multiple monitors.

In terms of options, a slider can be used to set the opacity at the intervals of the user’s choice, to maintain a certain level of readability and not get in the way of using the computer properly. Higher opacity values can make sure strangers cannot peek at your screen from the sidelines when working on-the-go in a coffee shop or busy train.

Alternatively, for times when your workflow requires only one display to be active, darkening the other ones can help you stay focused on a particular task by minimizing distractions. Making certain screens completely opaque can come in handy for maintaining your privacy when filming hardware reviews, keeping in touch with friends or attending conferences from your mobile device.

Finally, apart from the option to display the monitor’s code name and keyboard shortcut upon activation when required, users can keep interacting normally with the affected screens, or preventing input from being detected on them, thus preventing accidental touches. Since many apps and websites do not have support for custom backgrounds, the program can overlay different images for each screen, thus letting you add a splash of art to your setup.

Those working with bright displays on the daily can find good use in BlackScreens’ excellent open-source implementation of an additional layer of protection for your eyesight via an overlay with customizable opacity that can either safeguard your privacy or help you focus on important tasks and projects.