Stop the white flash at night

Why it happens

A web page starts as a blank white canvas. Safari fills it in as the website’s styles and content load. If the website has no dark design, it simply stays white. If it does, the dark styles can still arrive a moment late, so you see white first. In a dark room, that moment is enough to sting.

Dark Mode on its own doesn’t prevent this, and neither does lowering brightness: the page is still white, just dimmer.

What actually helps

• A Safari extension that paints first. Dimlight runs before a page appears. It remembers how it handled each website, so on your next visit the page is dark from the first frame, whether it uses the site’s own dark theme or Dimlight’s colors.
• Reader. Safari’s Reader view can show articles on a dark background. It only works on articles, and you have to open it each time.
• Reduce White Point (iPhone and iPad: Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size). It makes bright colors less intense everywhere. It softens the flash but doesn’t remove it.
• Night Shift. Warms the screen in the evening. Easier on the eyes, but white pages are still white.

Set up Dimlight

It’s free and takes about two minutes. Follow the guide for your device:

• iPhone and iPadTurn on Dimlight in Settings › Apps › Safari › Extensions.
• MacTurn on Dimlight in Safari › Settings › Extensions.

The first visit to a website you’ve never opened can still show a brief moment of white while Dimlight works out how to darken it. From then on, it’s dark from the start.