After months of development and testing, StayGray is officially available on the App Store. The app brings system-wide grayscale control to iPhone and iPad, backed by peer-reviewed research showing that grayscale can meaningfully reduce screen time.
What is StayGray?
StayGray is a digital wellbeing app that turns your phone screen to grayscale. Research suggests that removing color from your display reduces the visual reward signals that keep people scrolling. Multiple studies have found that grayscale can reduce daily screen time by around 38 minutes on average, and by roughly one hour for habitual social media users.
Unlike simply toggling the accessibility grayscale filter manually, StayGray gives you fine-grained control over when and where color is allowed.
Key features at launch
The iOS app ships with a full set of tools designed to make grayscale practical for everyday life:
- One-tap toggle from the home screen widget, Control Center, or Siri voice commands.
- App-specific exceptions so color-dependent apps like maps, camera, and photo editors continue to work normally.
- Time-based scheduling to automatically enable grayscale during focus hours, work hours, or before bedtime. You can set different schedules for weekdays and weekends.
- Location-based rules that switch to color automatically at places like grocery stores or restaurants where you might need it.
- Timed color breaks for when you need color temporarily. Set a timer from 5 minutes to 24 hours, and grayscale returns automatically when time is up.
- Usage analytics to track your screen time patterns and see how grayscale is affecting your daily habits.
Free and premium tiers
StayGray is free to download and use. The free tier includes one-tap grayscale toggle, 3 app exceptions, 1 schedule, timed color breaks, and basic usage stats.
StayGray Plus unlocks unlimited app exceptions, unlimited schedules, location-based rules, advanced analytics, and priority support.
Privacy by design
StayGray is built with privacy as a core principle. The app does not require creating an account for basic use. Settings and usage data stay on your device or in your personal iCloud. The website does not use analytics tools, tracking cookies, or third-party embeds.
Why grayscale works
The idea behind StayGray is grounded in published research. A 2020 study by Holte and Ferraro found that college students using grayscale reduced their daily screen time by an average of 38 minutes. A 2023 study by Wickord and Quaiser-Pohl showed that habitual phone users (those who scroll out of boredom) saw reductions of roughly one hour per day. More recent 2025 research confirmed that grayscale reduces player retention in mobile games by breaking the immersive color experience.
You can explore all the studies on the research page.
What is next
An Android app and a browser extension are currently in development.
For now, StayGray is available for any iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.0 or later.