A camera for the dark. Shoot photos and video while the screen stays completely black. Version 1.0
Blackout Camera is a professional camera built for dark environments — astrophotography, meteor showers, the aurora, long-exposure landscapes, observatories, and anywhere a glowing phone screen would ruin the moment or other people's shots. It records like the standard camera, but with one tap (or automatically the instant you start recording) the screen goes fully black while the camera keeps shooting. There's also a red night-vision mode and full manual controls for serious low-light work.
The big idea: Press Screen Off and the display turns black and dims to nothing — but the camera keeps recording. To bring the screen back, press and hold anywhere for half a second. The hold is deliberate so the screen can't wake by accident on a tripod or in your pocket.
Tap the Screen Off button. The interface disappears, the screen turns black, and screen brightness drops to its minimum so the display emits as little light as possible. On OLED iPhones, black pixels are effectively switched off.
The camera keeps doing exactly what it was doing — a photo session stays ready, and a video recording keeps rolling. If you like, a very dim red “REC” dot confirms a recording is in progress, and a faint “Hold to wake” hint sits at the bottom. Both can be turned off in Settings for total darkness.
Press and hold anywhere for about half a second. A quick tap won't do it — that's on purpose, so a stray touch can't light up your screen mid-shot.
By default, starting a video recording blacks the screen immediately. You can turn this off in Settings → Screen Off → “Black screen when recording starts.”
Tap the moon icon to wash the entire interface in deep red and dim the screen. Red light preserves your eyes' dark adaptation far better than white or blue light, so you can glance at the screen to frame or adjust a shot without losing your night vision — useful at the telescope or around other astrophotographers.
Tap the sliders icon to open manual controls:
Tap AUTO on any control to hand it back to the camera. You can also tap the preview to focus and meter on a point, and pinch to zoom.
Photos are captured at your camera's full quality. Video records at up to 4K (choose the quality in Settings). Everything is saved to your Photos library using “Add Only” access, so the app never reads your existing library.
Yes. The screen going black is purely a display change — the camera session keeps running and video keeps recording the whole time.
Press and hold anywhere on the black screen for about half a second. A single tap is ignored on purpose so you can't wake it by accident.
No — locking the phone or pressing the side button suspends the app and stops the camera. Use the in-app Screen Off button instead, which keeps the camera running while the display is black. The app also keeps your phone from auto-locking while it's open.
The camera is needed to take photos and record video; the microphone is needed to record sound with your videos. Nothing is ever uploaded — see the Privacy Policy.
Directly to your device's Photos library. The app uses “Add Only” access, so it can save new captures but cannot see your existing photos.
Blackout Camera lowers screen brightness while you're in black or night-vision mode and restores it when you leave. If brightness ever seems stuck, exit the app and adjust brightness in Control Center; it is always restored when you close the app.
Please email mwsupplylimited@gmail.com with your iOS version, device, and steps to reproduce. We read every message.
For support: mwsupplylimited@gmail.com
See the Blackout Camera Privacy Policy.