Make your Mac's screen easier to see with Increase contrast

Why it happens

The Mac's light, see-through look can make buttons and edges fade into the background, especially with low vision or a bright room. Increase contrast draws clearer outlines around controls and makes see-through areas more solid. It changes how macOS draws things, not your screen's brightness.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click Accessibility, then Display.

2. Turn on Increase contrast.

   Accessibility›Display›Increase contrast

3. Look at a Finder window, a menu and the Dock. Buttons and edges should now stand out with dark borders.

Still not fixed?

1. Want stronger contrast across the whole screen? Drag the Display contrast slider in the same place.

   Accessibility›Display›Display contrast

2. Toolbar buttons hard to spot? Turn on Show toolbar button shapes (called Show borders on macOS 27).

   macOS 26 Tahoe Accessibility›Display›Show toolbar button shapes

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Accessibility›Display›Show borders

3. Text too small? Change Text size in the same Display section.

   Accessibility›Display›Text size

4. Losing the pointer? Make it bigger with Pointer size.

   Accessibility›Display›Pointer size

5. Some colours hard to tell apart? Try Color filters.

   Accessibility›Display›Color filters

6. If the screen itself looks faded, patchy or dim with these on and brightness turned up, the display may be faulty. Contact Apple Support or a repair shop, as that's a hardware repair.