Black screen
A plain full-screen black, in one click.
Screen resolution: –
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
Example
Example: the projector goes black for the break, the laptop stays free
A talk is shown on a projector set up as a second screen. For the coffee break the slides should disappear without switching the projector off, while the laptop keeps your notes open.
- Drag this browser window onto the projector’s screen and press Full screen: that screen turns black and stays black.
- Leave the mouse alone: after 2 seconds the cursor hides, so not even an arrow shows on the wall.
- Carry on working on the laptop. Back from the break, double-click the black screen or press Esc to leave full screen; on a phone or tablet, tap once to show the controls.
| Screen | What the black screen looks like |
|---|---|
| OLED phone, laptop or TV | The pixels switch off: true black, and those pixels use next to no power |
| LCD monitor or laptop | The backlight stays on: a very dark grey, and in a dark room any backlight bleed shows at the edges |
| Projector | Its darkest black: a faint grey rectangle on the wall, with nothing on it to read |
The projector shows black for as long as the break lasts, and the page asks the device to stay awake meanwhile, where the browser allows it. The laptop’s own screen is untouched.
How it works
- Press Full screen: the whole screen turns black and the cursor hides.
- Leave it on a projector, a second monitor or a TV while you don’t want anything shown.
- Press Esc or double-click to exit; on a phone, tap once to show the controls.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a black screen for?
- Blanking a projector or second screen between slides, watching for backlight bleed and glow on an LCD in a dark room, checking an OLED for stuck pixels, or keeping a screen dark without turning it off.
- Does a black screen save power?
- On OLED screens (most phones, some TVs and laptops) black pixels are off, so yes. On LCD screens the backlight stays on, so hardly.
- How do I check backlight bleed?
- Turn the room lights off, set the screen brightness high and look at the edges: light patches that should be black are bleed.
- Will the screen switch off by itself?
- The page asks the device to stay awake in full screen where the browser allows it.
- Can I make just one monitor black?
- Yes. Full screen fills the screen the browser window is on, so move the window to the monitor, projector or TV you want dark first; the other screens carry on as normal.
- Why does my black screen look grey?
- On an LCD the backlight shines through even a black pixel, so in a dark room black looks dark grey, brightest at the edges. An OLED screen switches its pixels off and looks truly black.
- Is anything sent anywhere?
- No. It runs in your browser.