A blue light filter is either a software or display setting that reduces the amount of blue light emitted by a display.
It does this by moving the colour balance to a warmer tone with a more yellow or orange hue to the display. By filtering or reducing the amount of blue light it can help to reduce the impact of the effects from extended blue light exposure.
Filtering or reducing blue light can help contribute to reducing eyestrain, eye fatigue and dryness which are caused due toprolonged use of screens.
It has also been noted that filtering blue light can have a positive impact on sleep as the lack of blue light can promote the natural production of Melatonin which contributes to better sleep.
It can affect the colour accuracy if your work involves colour accuracy it is either recommended to turn this off while doing so or to disable it entirely due to the colour changes it will overall make the display a warmer shade so what was a crisp white will have a yellow or orange tint.
In some instances people with red-green colour blindness may encounter issues where the colours no longer appear correctly.
The easiest way to do this on a windows PC is to open the start menu and type in "night light" this is a built in windows tool where you can enable and adjust the nightlight to your own preferences.
For example you can adjust the intensity and colour. Set up schedules to match dawn dusk cycles or toggle it to run all the time.
You can do the same same on MacOS by opening your system setting or preferences then choosing display and Night Shift which will bring up similar options to allow control of when and the intensity of this.
With Android devices you can enable this from the quick access menu, you may need to edit these to enable this.
You can do these same on an iPhone by accessing setting, display and brightness and choosing Night Shift
Some Televisions also support this feature, but you would need to refer to the manufacturers guide on how to enable this.
The simplest way to reduce strain related to blue light is regular breaks from your screen. While the filter is beneficial it works best as part of a broader range of measures including the blue light filter, good screen habits such as the 20-20-20 rule (20 minutes of screen use, then looking at an object 20 or more feet away for 20 seconds).
Good posture and desk ergonomics. Plus, regular eye examinations are an important part of overall eye health and will mean any issues can be detected early.