How to use the screen light
- Pick a color temperature chip, from Warm 2700 K to Cool daylight 6500 K, or drag Color temperature.
- Set Brightness, and turn your device brightness up as well.
- Choose Full, Ring light or Window under Mode.
- Press Fullscreen or F; Esc leaves fullscreen.
- Need light right now? Flashlight gives the brightest white in one tap.
Better lighting for Zoom and video calls
A screen beside your camera is a soft key light. Place it at eye level next to or just behind the camera, so the light falls on your face rather than the side of it. In Ring light mode the border glows and the middle stays dark for your call window; on one screen, use a maximized call window rather than fullscreen. A second monitor works best. Match the room: Soft white 3000 K under warm bulbs, Daylight 5000 K by day. Keep bright windows behind you out of the shot, and check the result in the online mirror. A 10 minute timer makes a handy “call starts soon” screen.
Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet are trademarks of their owners; HugeTimer isn’t affiliated with them.
Fake window light for windowless rooms
Window mode draws a lit window: the light fades slightly from top to bottom, crossbars divide it into panes, and Sky tint adds a touch of blue at the top. Put a spare TV, monitor or tablet on a wall, choose 5000–6500 K for a daylight look and go fullscreen. It works in a basement, an office or cubicle, a bathroom or as a photo backdrop. It is a glow, not daylight: LED window panels are far brighter, so think of this as a way to try the look first.
Window panes (grids)
Panes offers None, 2×2 and 3×2. The dark bars are 1.5 % of the screen’s shorter side, like the muntins of a real window frame.
Color temperature explained (2700–6500 K)
Color temperature, in kelvin, describes how warm or cool a white light looks: low numbers are orange-white, high numbers blue-white. Household bulbs sold as warm white sit around 2700–3000 K, and daylight runs from about 5000 to 6500 K (Wikipedia: Color temperature).
| Chip | Light compared with Cool daylight |
|---|---|
| Warm 2700 K | 50 % |
| Soft white 3000 K | 54 % |
| Neutral 4000 K | 69 % |
| Daylight 5000 K | 82 % |
| Cool daylight 6500 K | 100 % |
Warm light gives about half the light of cool daylight on the same screen, because a screen makes warm colors by turning its blue subpixels down.
Flashlight mode: a bright white light in one tap
Flashlight sets 6500 K at 100 % in Full mode and goes fullscreen at once, which makes it the page’s bright white light. Turn your device brightness up too. It lights the screen, not your phone’s LED, so it’s softer and wider. When you leave fullscreen, your own set-up comes back exactly as it was.
Options explained
Color temperature runs from 2700 to 6500 K in 100 K steps (default 5000 K), with five chips and a readout of the shown color. Brightness goes from 5 to 100 % (default 100 %). Mode is Full by default; Ring width (10–40 %, default 18 %) appears for Ring light, and Panes (default 2×2) and Sky tint (off) for Window. Share and Copy OBS link copy your light; Keep screen on lives in Settings.
How it works
The color comes from a published approximation of how a heated light source looks at each kelvin value (Tanner Helland), so 5000 K shows #FFE4CE. Brightness scales each color channel, and the ring and window are drawn with plain CSS, so nothing loads after the page. The Screen Wake Lock API keeps the display on while the light is open. Want a colored warm light instead of a white one? Try the yellow screen.
Tips and limits: is a screen bright enough?
A screen gives at most about π × brightness (cd/m²) × area (m²) lumens. At 300 cd/m² that is roughly 50 lumens for a 14-inch laptop, 190 for a 27-inch monitor and 790 for a 55-inch TV, if it holds that brightness with the whole screen lit. A 60-watt-equivalent bulb gives about 800 lumens (FTC), and warm settings roughly halve a screen’s output.
- Night Shift, Night light and True Tone shift the colors warmer than the chosen kelvin; switch them off for accurate light.
- Objects can look slightly different under screen light than under a lamp.
- This is a decorative and video-call light; we make no health claims for it.
- For a gentle moving scene on a spare screen, try the aquarium screensaver.
FAQ
How do I make a fake window light with a screen?
Choose Window mode, pick 5000 K or 6500 K, keep the 2×2 Panes and switch on Sky tint for a hint of blue at the top. Then press Fullscreen on a spare monitor, tablet or TV and leave Keep screen on switched on in Settings. The screen shows a lit window with crossbars.
What color temperature looks most natural on video calls?
Match the light already in the room. By day, Daylight 5000 K blends with window light; in the evening under warm bulbs, Soft white 3000 K looks more natural. Avoid mixing a cool screen light with warm room light on the same face, because one side will look blue and the other orange.
How can I improve my lighting on video calls with my screen?
Put the light beside or just behind your camera at eye level and turn the screen brightness up. Ring light mode lights the border of the screen and leaves the middle dark for the call window. Keep bright windows and lamps out of the frame behind you, so the camera exposes for your face.
Can I use my laptop as a flashlight?
Yes. Flashlight sets 6500 K at full brightness and goes fullscreen in one tap, and the page asks the screen to stay on. It is much dimmer than a phone's LED flash, but enough to find things in a dark room. Leaving fullscreen brings back the light you had set up.
Is a screen light bright enough to light a room?
Not like a lamp. A 14-inch laptop at 300 cd/m² gives roughly 50 lumens and a 55-inch TV about 790, while a 60-watt-equivalent bulb gives about 800. That's plenty for a face on a call or a soft glow on a wall, but not for reading across a room.
Does it work on a second monitor or TV?
Yes. Drag the browser window to the second monitor and press F; fullscreen opens on the screen that holds the window. On a TV, open the page in the TV's browser or cast a browser tab to it, then press Fullscreen. Smart-TV browsers differ, so test yours first.
What is a fake window called?
It's usually called a faux or false window. In architecture, a window shape that was never opened, or that has been closed in, is called a blind window. The lit versions sold for basements and offices are known as fake-window light panels, and they are far brighter than any screen.
Will my screen stay on while I use it?
Yes, where the browser supports Screen Wake Lock: the page asks for it as soon as it opens, because Keep screen on is on by default. Chrome and Edge 84+, Firefox 126+ and Safari 16.4+ support it. Elsewhere, change your display sleep or auto-lock setting while you use the light.
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