Make online content easier to read
You can adjust the colours, text and reading tools on your device or browser to make websites, including LearnNet, more comfortable for you to use.
Everyone reads differently. You may find it helpful to use a coloured tint, increase the text size, adjust the spacing between words or use a reading ruler.
There is no single setting that works for everyone. Try the options in this guide to find the combination that works best for you.
Where should I start?
- College device: contact Digital Services.
- iPhone, iPad or Mac: try Colour Tint.
- Samsung: look for Colour Filter.
- Windows or other Android: try Helperbird browser extension.
Using a College-managed device?
You may not be able to install browser extensions or change certain settings yourself. Contact Digital Services so the team can help you choose and set up an appropriate option.
When asking for help, tell the team:
- Which browser you use to access LearnNet or other college websites
- Whether you need a coloured tint across the whole display or only on websites
- Your preferred colour and intensity, if you know them
- Any other adjustments that help, such as larger text, additional spacing or a reading ruler
Using your own device?
You can try the settings and extensions in this guide yourself.
Need Learning Support?
The Educational Support Team can work with you to find the right support, whether that’s specialist software, support in class, or adjustments for assessments and exams.
Change the settings on your device
Some devices can apply a coloured tint across the entire display. Others can change the background and text colours.
What will a display tint affect? A tint changes everything shown on the screen, including websites, LearnNet, apps, photographs, videos and documents. You can adjust its strength or turn it off when it is not needed.
| Device | Setting | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone or iPad | Colour Filters/Tint | Applies your chosen colour across the display |
| Mac | Colour Filters/Tint | Applies your chosen colour across the display |
| Some Samsung devices | Colour Filter | Applies a coloured tint across the display |
| Other Android devices | Limited colour settings | Usually offers correction, inversion and dark mode |
| Windows 11 | Contrast themes | Changes interface and supported website colours |
iPhone and iPad
Apply a colour tint
- Open Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Select Display & Text Size.
- Select Colour Filters.
- Turn on Colour Filters.
- Select Colour Tint.
- Move the Hue slider to your preferred colour.
- Adjust Intensity until the display feels comfortable.
This setting can produce a purple tint or another colour of your choice.
Create a quick shortcut
Go to Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut → Colour Filters.
You can then triple-click the side or Home button to switch the tint on or off.
Mac
- Open the Apple menu.
- Select System Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Select Display.
- Open Colour Filters and turn them on.
- Select Colour Tint.
- Choose your preferred colour and adjust the intensity.
Samsung phones and tablets
Some Samsung devices provide a Colour Filter setting:
- Open Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Select Vision enhancements.
- Select Colour filter.
- Choose your preferred colour and adjust its strength.
The setting’s name and location may differ depending on your device model and software version.
Other Android devices
Open Settings → Accessibility → Colour and motion.
Depending on your device, the available settings may include:
- Colour correction
- Colour inversion
- Dark theme
- Outline text
- Font and display size
These settings can make content easier to see, but most Android devices do not let you choose a specific screen tint. For greater control over webpage colours, try Helperbird in Firefox.
Read Google’s guidance on Android display settings.
Android Reading mode
Google’s Reading mode can present supported webpage text in a simplified view. You can adjust the text size, font, line spacing and colours, or have the text read aloud.
Search for Reading mode by Google in the Google Play Store, then follow the instructions to enable it under your device’s accessibility settings. It may not work with every webpage or interactive activity.
Windows 11
Windows does not provide the same adjustable whole-screen tint available on Apple devices. However, you can create a custom contrast theme.
- Open Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
- Select Contrast themes.
- Choose a theme and select Edit.
- Set the background to your preferred colour.
- Choose a text colour that is easy to read against the background.
- Choose clearly distinguishable colours for links and buttons.
- Save and apply the theme.
For example, you could use a purple background with white, cream or dark navy text. Make sure the text remains clear and easy to read.
Contrast themes change colours in Windows and supported websites. They are not transparent overlays, and images or embedded content may remain unchanged.
Change websites with a browser extension
Browser extensions can change how websites look without changing the appearance of your entire device.
Helperbird
Helperbird is an accessibility extension with tools that can make webpages more comfortable to read. It is available for:
Follow the instructions provided by your browser to install the extension. Always review the permissions requested by an extension before installing it.
Helperbird’s free tools include
- Customisable colour overlays, including purple
- Background and text colour controls
- Alternative fonts, including OpenDyslexic and Lexend
- Font-size and spacing adjustments
- Reading rulers and line-focus tools
- Reading mode and text-to-speech
- Microsoft Immersive Reader
- PDF reading support
Use Helperbird on a mobile device
| Device and browser | Availability |
|---|---|
| iPhone or iPad using Safari | Available as a Safari extension |
| Android using Firefox 128 or later | Available and recommended |
| Android using Microsoft Edge | Depends on whether that version supports extensions |
| Android using Google Chrome | Not available |
Install Helperbird on an iPhone or iPad
- Install Helperbird from the App Store.
- Open Settings.
- Select Apps → Safari → Extensions.
- Select Helperbird and turn it on.
- Allow Helperbird to access websites.
- Open a webpage in Safari.
- Open Safari’s page or extensions menu and select Helperbird.
Helperbird can adjust webpages opened in Safari. It will not change the appearance of other applications.
Install Helperbird on Android
Firefox for Android version 128 or later provides the most reliable way to use Helperbird.
- Install Firefox.
- Open Firefox’s menu.
- Select Add-ons.
- Select Find more add-ons.
- Search for Helperbird.
- Select Add to Firefox and confirm.
- Open the webpage you want to read.
- Select Menu → Add-ons → Helperbird.
Read the Helperbird instructions for Firefox on Android.
Helperbird may also work in Microsoft Edge if the installed version supports extensions. Read the Helperbird instructions for Edge on Android.
Using Chrome on Android? Google Chrome on Android does not currently support standard browser extensions.
Find what works for you
Try making one adjustment at a time so you can identify what helps. You could experiment with:
- A softer background colour
- A coloured tint at a low intensity
- Larger text
- More spacing between lines, words or letters
- A different font
- Shorter lines of text
- A reading ruler or line-focus tool
- Listening to the text using text-to-speech
Need help?
The Educational Support Team can work with you to find the right support, whether that’s specialist software, support in class, or adjustments for assessments and exams.
Digital Services can help with setting up settings or tools on college managed devices.
Please note: Browser extensions should work on standard LearnNet pages, but they may not change externally hosted resources, embedded content or some interactive learning activities.