If you find that the vibrant, colorful icons on your Mac are causing eye strain, or if you are deliberately trying to make your computer feel less distracting so you can focus on work, macOS includes a hidden accessibility feature that can instantly strip all color from your display. By enabling the Grayscale color filter, your entire operating system—including all apps, videos, and websites—will be rendered in black, white, and shades of gray.
How to Enable the Grayscale Filter
This feature does not permanently alter your files or change the actual colors of your images; it only changes how your physical monitor displays the output. If you take a screenshot while Grayscale is enabled and send it to a friend, the image will still appear in full color on their device.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
- Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Accessibility.
- In the main window, under the “Vision” section, click on Display.
- Scroll down until you find the “Color Filters” section.
- Toggle the switch for Color Filters to the ON position.
- Directly below the toggle switch, click the dropdown menu for “Filter type” and select Grayscale.
The moment you select Grayscale, your screen will instantly lose all color.
How to Create a Quick Toggle Shortcut
If you only want to use Grayscale during specific work hours, navigating through the Settings app every time is inconvenient. You can create a keyboard shortcut to toggle the filter on and off instantly.
- Go back to the main Accessibility menu in System Settings.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the menu and click on Shortcut.
- Check the box next to Color Filters.
Now, anytime you want to turn your screen black and white (or bring the color back), simply press the Option + Command + F5 keys simultaneously. An accessibility menu will pop up, allowing you to instantly check or uncheck the Color Filters box.