Short answer: yes. Blue light glasses can be completely clear. A clear lens filters a smaller share of blue light than a tinted one, so colors stay natural and the glasses look like ordinary eyewear. Our clear InvisiAid lens blocks 35% of blue light across 400–500nm and lets through 86% of visible light. That makes clear lenses a good fit for daytime screens and color work, but not for the evening: for the hours before bed, you need an orange or red lens.
Below: how clear lenses work, how they compare with tinted lenses, and which to choose.
Do Blue Light Glasses Have to Be Tinted?
No. The tint is a side effect of filtering, not a requirement. When a lens removes blue light from white light, what's left looks warmer: yellow, orange or red, depending on how much is filtered. A lens that filters only a small share of blue light hardly changes the color at all, so it looks clear.
So the rule of thumb is simple: the deeper the tint, the more blue light the lens filters, and the more it changes how colors look.
How Do Clear Blue Light Glasses Work?
A clear blue light lens filters part of the blue band while letting most visible light through.
How much a clear lens filters varies a lot between brands. A 2020 study in Clinical and Experimental Optometry measured blue light filtering lenses and found that blocking in the lenses it tested ranged from about 6% to 43%. That's why a measured figure matters. Ours is measured by Micro-Light Optics: InvisiAid blocks 35% across 400–500nm, with 86% light transmission (ISO 12312-1 Category 0).
Clear vs Tinted Lenses
Here's how our lenses compare, from clearest to darkest:
- Clear (InvisiAid): blocks 35% across 400–500nm, 86% light transmission. Natural colors, for daytime.
- Yellow (ScreenAid): blocks 60% across 400–500nm, 79% light transmission. A warmer screen, for daytime.
- Orange (SleepAid): blocks 99% across 380–550nm, 48% light transmission. For the two to three hours before bed.
- Red (SleepAidMax): blocks 99.7% across 380–580nm, 22% light transmission. For the last hour before sleep.
Where Clear Lenses Win
- They look like regular glasses, so they suit work and professional settings
- Colors stay natural, which matters for design, photo editing and video work
- They're bright enough to wear indoors all day
Where Tinted Lenses Win
- In the evening. Bright, blue-rich light in the evening can delay the rise of melatonin, the hormone that tells your body it's getting dark. A clear lens lets most blue light through, so it isn't made for this. Orange and red lenses block almost all of it.
- If you like a warmer screen. A yellow lens filters more than clear with only a mild tint.
Tinted lenses have trade-offs too: they change how colors look, and orange and red lenses let through too little light for driving.
Are Clear Blue Light Glasses Worth It?
It depends what you want them for. Be wary of big claims: a 2023 Cochrane review found blue light filtering glasses probably make no difference to eye strain in the short term, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology says the light from screens doesn't damage the eyes. Tired eyes at a screen usually come from focusing up close for a long time, blinking less and glare.
Where clear lenses make sense is as a light, everyday filter for people who want some blue light filtering during the day without any change in color. If your goal is the evening, choose orange or red instead.
Who Clear Lenses Suit
- Office workers who want glasses that look like ordinary eyewear
- Designers, photographers and anyone doing color-accurate work
- Teachers and students on screens during the day
- Anyone who wants a filter they can wear all day indoors
If you also need magnification for reading, our ReadAid reading glasses use the same clear lens.
Questions You Might Have
Do Blue Light Glasses Need to Be Tinted?
No. Clear lenses filter a smaller share of blue light, which is why they don't look tinted. Tinted lenses filter more.
Can You Wear Clear Blue Light Glasses as Normal Glasses?
Yes. Non-prescription clear lenses can be worn all day. They won't correct your vision, though, so if you need glasses, ask your optometrist about a blue light filter on your prescription lenses.
What Color Should Blue Light Glasses Be?
Clear or yellow for daytime screens; orange or red for the evening. There's more in our guides to whether blue light glasses have a tint and yellow tinted lenses.
Do Clear Blue Light Glasses Help With Sleep?
Not much. A clear lens lets most blue light through. For the two to three hours before bed, see our guide to wearing blue light glasses before bed.
Can a Lens Block 100% of Blue Light?
Close to it. Our red SleepAidMax lens blocks 99.7% of light across 380–580nm. A lens like that is far too dark for daytime use or driving, so it's strictly for the evening.
Conclusion
Blue light glasses can be clear. A clear lens filters less blue light than a tinted one, but keeps colors natural and looks like ordinary eyewear, which makes it a good everyday choice for daytime screens and color work. For the evening, when cutting blue light matters most, switch to an orange or red lens.
Shop InvisiAid clear lens glasses or use the Lens Finder to match a lens to your day.
