Twilight: Blue light filter

451K reviews
Content rating
PEGI 3
10M+
Downloads
Editors' Choice
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About this app

Are you having trouble falling asleep? Are your kids hyperactive when playing with the tablet before bed time?
Are you using your smart phone or tablet in the late evening? Are you sensitive to light during migraine?
Twilight may be a solution for you!

Recent research suggests that exposure to blue light before sleep may distort your natural (circadian) rhythm and cause inability to fall asleep.

The cause is the photoreceptor in your eyes, called Melanopsin. This receptor is sensitive to a narrow band of blue light in the 460-480nm range which may suppress Melatonin production - a hormone responsible for your healthy sleep-wake cycles.

In experimental scientific studies it has been shown an average person reading on a tablet or smart phone for a couple of hours before bed time may find their sleep delayed by about an hour. See references below..

The Twilight app makes your device screen adapt to the time of the day. It filters the flux of blue light emitted by your phone or tablet after sunset and protects your eyes with a soft and pleasant red filter. The filter intensity is smoothly adjusted to the sun cycle based on your local sunset and sunrise times.

You can also use Twilight on your Wear OS device.

Documentation
http://twilight.urbandroid.org/doc/

Get more from Twilight
1) Bed reading: Twilight is more pleasant on the eyes for night reading. Especially as it is able to lower the screen backlight far below the ability of the backligt controls on your screen

2) AMOLED screens: We have tested Twilight on an AMOLED screen for 5 years without any sign of depletion or over-burning. If properly configured Twilight causes less light emission (by enabling dimming) with more equal light distribution (dark areas of the screen such as the status bar get tinted). This may in fact increase your AMOLED screen life time.

Basics on circadian rhythm and the role of melatonin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanopsin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm_disorder

Permissions
- location - to find out your current sunset/surise times
- running apps - to stop Twilight in selected apps
- write settings - to set back-light
- network - access smartlight (Philips HUE) to shield you household light from blue

Accessibility Service

In order to filter also your notifications and lock screen the app may ask for enabling Twilight Accessibility Service. The app uses this service only to better filter your screen and does not collect any personal information. Please read more about this at https://twilight.urbandroid.org/is-twilights-accessibility-service-a-thread-to-my-privacy/

Wear OS

Twilight also syncs your Wear OS screen with your phone's filter settings. You can control filtering from a "Wear OS Tile".

Automation (Tasker or other)
https://sites.google.com/site/twilight4android/automation

Related scientific research

Amplitude Reduction and Phase Shifts of Melatonin, Cortisol and Other Circadian Rhythms after a Gradual Advance of Sleep and Light Exposure in Humans Derk-Jan Dijk, & Co 2012

Exposure to Room Light before Bedtime Suppresses Melatonin Onset and Shortens Melatonin Duration in Humans Joshua J. Gooley, Kyle Chamberlain, Kurt A. Smith & Co, 2011

Effect of Light on Human Circadian Physiology Jeanne F. Duffy, Charles A. Czeisler 2009

Efficacy of a single sequence of intermittent bright light pulses for delaying circadian phase in humans Claude Gronfier, Kenneth P. Wright, & Co 2009

Intrinsic period and light intensity determine the phase relationship between melatonin and sleep in humans Kenneth P. Wright, Claude Gronfier & Co 2009

The Impact of Sleep Timing and Bright Light Exposure on Attentional Impairment during Night Work Nayantara Santhi & Co 2008

Short-Wavelength Light Sensitivity of Circadian, Pupillary, and Visual Awareness in Humans Lacking an Outer Retina Farhan H. Zaidi & Co, 2007
Filters blue light from your screen, reduces eye strain and helps you sleep
Updated on
Sep 29, 2026

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
  • No data shared with third parties
    Learn more about how developers declare sharing
  • No data collected
    Learn more about how developers declare collection

Ratings and reviews

420K reviews
Jul
July 8, 2026
I've been using twilight for ages now, at least 3-4 years, maybe more. It's a wonderful tool for making your eyes comfortable while using the phone after dark. It also helps to save the battery as dimmed red-colored screen uses less energy. Reading before bed is a pleasure. Oh and the new paper-like grainy texture is freakin' awesome, I just found out about this update. I love the textured overlay, makes me feel cozy somehow!
4 people found this review helpful
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Daniel T
July 9, 2026
I'm a few mins into using this and wow it might've turned my new phone from "useable but a bit intense even with all the inbuilt adjustments" to genuinely the most easy-on-the-eyes screen I've ever owned. Softens, tints, reduces the contrast to a gentle level. All on sliders to get it *Just Right*. And adding a bit of the paper-like filter is just magic. Huge huge thanks!
1 person found this review helpful
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Anna Milligan
May 29, 2024
I keep having to restart my phone in order to cover the notifications etc. Advice given in a reply to another review is unhelpful. App permissions are set to allow already and switching this off and on changes nothing. Restarting is the only solution that I have found. I don't like how it is also constantly in my notifications either. EDIT: 'Huawei is notorious for killing apps'.. Odd statement. I have had no issues with any other apps, and your solution did not work.
2 people found this review helpful
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Petr Nálevka (Urbandroid)
May 30, 2024
Hello Anna, when the system kills the background process of the app, that is currently not opened (because it is in the background behind a foreground app) - you won't notice, as the system will launch the app when you open it as nothing has happened. But a filter app, that has a visiual clue, if it is running or not, you notice immediately.

What’s new

IKEA Dirigera support