Report updated Apr 18, 2026
Turn Off the Lights for Mobile
For students, teachers, and professionals who spend significant time browsing video content at night and want to reduce eye strain and visual distractions.
Turn Off the Lights for Mobile is an established productivity app that is completely free. With a 4.1/5 rating from 961 reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate eye comfort & accessibility, though manual activation friction remains a common concern.
What is Turn Off the Lights for Mobile?
Current Momentum
v1.2 · 68mo ago
ZombieThe last major update was version 1.2.8 in April 2019, which introduced iPhone X support and Safari extensions. The app has not received a significant feature update in over 7 years and appears to be in maintenance mode.
Active Nemesis
Orion Browser by Kagi
By Kagi
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
ProductivityNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User Mood
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Adds a black transparent layer over web pages to dim the background and highlight video players.
Allows users to adjust the background color and opacity of the dimming layer via a slider.
Private browsing mode that does not save history or site data.
How much does it cost?
- Completely free to use
The app is positioned as a free utility, relying on community donations and brand awareness for the broader Turn Off the Lights project rather than aggressive in-app monetization.
Who Built It?
Stefan Van Damme
Enhancing web accessibility and productivity through specialized browser extensions and utility tools. Focused on improving the digital experience for power users and professionals.
Portfolio
13
Apps
What other apps does Stefan Van Damme make?
Zoom for Safari
Turn Off the Lights for Safari
Full Screen for Safari
Aerial View Tab for Safari
Date Today
Hard Disk - Monitor Disk Usage
Explore the full Stefan Van Damme report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Stefan Van Damme.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · 73 reviews analyzed · Based on 73 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate eye comfort & accessibility and safari extension support, but report manual activation friction and misleading scope of use.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for Turn Off the Lights for Mobile?
How's The Productivity Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
The rivals identified
The outtake for Turn Off the Lights for Mobile
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Strong niche brand recognition from desktop extension
- Specialized dimming logic that preserves image colors
- High utility for users with medical eye sensitivities
Critical Frictions
- Maintenance mode (last updated 2019/2020)
- Manual activation required for every new page load
- UI bugs causing unreadable dark text on dark backgrounds
Growth Levers
- Pivot to a modern Safari Web Extension model
- Automate dimming triggers based on system settings
- Integrate Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for video content
Market Threats
- Orion Browser supporting desktop extensions natively
- Nitefall offering a modern Safari Extension alternative
- Native OS-level dark mode improvements
What are the next best moves?
Pivot to a Safari Web Extension model
Addresses the #1 user complaint regarding the app being a standalone browser rather than an extension for existing workflows.
Implement 'Auto-Dim' functionality
Directly mitigates the 'Manual Activation Friction' theme, which is the most frequent source of negative sentiment.
Fix URL bar and text rendering contrast
Resolves UI bugs where dark text becomes unreadable, a critical failure for an app marketed for eye comfort.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and background playback (available in Video Lite)
- Native support for desktop Chrome/Firefox extensions (available in Orion Browser)
- Built-in ad and tracker blocking (available in Orion and Vivaldi)
- AI-driven page summarization (available in Microsoft Edge)
Key Takeaways
Turn Off the Lights is a legacy utility with a loyal but frustrated user base; its specialized dimming logic is a unique asset, but the product is currently a 'zombie' failing to compete with modern extensions. To survive, it must pivot from a standalone browser to a fully automated Safari Web Extension.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Last updated in 2019/2020 — the app is in maintenance mode while competitors like Orion release 3+ updates in 6 months.
Mixed mood among users due to high-friction manual activation requirements.
Stable niche demand from users with medical eye sensitivities (e.g., retinopathy).