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What is Android color correction and how do you enable it?

For anyone with color vision deficiencies, Android has a feature that can help you better see what's on your phone display.
Written by Jack Wallen, Contributing Writer
Woman texting on Android.
Uwe Krejci/Getty Images

Those without color deficiencies can distinguish over 100 hues of color. If you have color vision deficiencies, that number can drop to 20 hues or less. 

There are three different types of color blindness:

  • Red-green color blindness: inability to distinguish between red and green.
  • Blue-yellow color blindness: inability to distinguish between blue and yellow, blue and green, yellow and pink, or purple and red.
  • Total color blindness: also called monochromacy, this is the inability to distinguish color at all.

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If you have one of these types, Android has a feature that can help you see colors more accurately on your device. 

Android includes four different color corrections:

  • Red-green where green is weak
  • Red-green where red is weak
  • Blue-yellow
  • Grayscale

If you have a red-green color vision deficiency where green is the weak color, you would select the first option. If red is the weak color for your red-green color vision deficiency, select the second option. If you have blue-yellow color vision deficiency, select the third option. If you have monochromacy, select the fourth option.

What is Android color correction and how do you enable it?

Let me show you how to enable Android color correction, so you can enjoy a more colorful experience on your phone.

Requirements

The only thing you'll need is an Android phone. Color correction has been around since Android 10, so most devices should include it. The only difference is older releases didn't include the Grayscale option. 

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I'll demonstrate this on a Pixel 7 Pro, running Android 13. If you're using an older release of Android, the steps might vary. 

1. Open Settings

The first step is to unlock your Android device and open the Settings app from either the App Drawer or the Notification Shade.

2. Access Color and motion

From the Settings app, tap Accessibility and then Color and motion.

The color correction option in Android 13.

Accessing the Color correction feature within Android settings.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

3. Enable color correction

From the Color and motion page, tap the Color correction entry. On the resulting page, tap the ON/OFF slider to the ON position.

The color correction ON/OFF slider in Android 13.

Enabling color correction in Android 13.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

4. Select your color correction option

After enabling color correction, scroll down until you see the four options. Tap the color correction option that best describes your color vision deficiency. 

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You can then tap to enable the color correction shortcut, which will add a pop-up button on your home screen to allow you to easily enable or disable the color correction feature.

The four different color correction options in Android 13.

Select the color correction option that fits your color vision deficiency.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

Once you've enabled color correction and selected the best option to correct for your vision, back out of the Settings app, and you should be able to distinguish colors a bit better on your Android device.

That's all there is to it. Hopefully, this feature will improve your Android experience.

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