📄 expo/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness

File: brightness.md | Updated: 11/15/2025

Source: https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness

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Expo Brightness

GitHub Changelog npm

A library that provides access to an API for getting and setting the screen brightness.

GitHub Changelog npm

Android

iOS

Bundled version:

~13.1.4

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An API to get and set screen brightness.

On Android, there is a global system-wide brightness setting, and each app has its own brightness setting that can optionally override the global setting. It is possible to set either of these values with this API. On iOS, the system brightness setting cannot be changed programmatically; instead, any changes to the screen brightness will persist until the device is locked or powered off.

Installation

Terminal

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- npx expo install expo-brightness

If you are installing this in an existing React Native app , make sure to install expo in your project.

Configuration

Are you using this library in an existing React Native app?

If you're not using Continuous Native Generation (CNG ) or you're using a native android project manually, then you need to add the android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS permission to the AndroidManifest.xml file:

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

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<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS" />

Usage

Basic Brightness Usage

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Open in Snack

import { useEffect } from 'react'; import { StyleSheet, View, Text } from 'react-native'; import * as Brightness from 'expo-brightness'; export default function App() { useEffect(() => { (async () => { const { status } = await Brightness.requestPermissionsAsync(); if (status === 'granted') { Brightness.setSystemBrightnessAsync(1); } })(); }, []); return ( <View style={styles.container}> <Text>Brightness Module Example</Text> </View> ); } const styles = StyleSheet.create({ container: { flex: 1, backgroundColor: '#fff', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center', }, });

API

import * as Brightness from 'expo-brightness';

Hooks

`usePermissions(options)`

| Parameter | Type | | --- | --- | | options(optional) | PermissionHookOptions<object> |

Check or request permissions to modify the system brightness. This uses both requestPermissionAsync and getPermissionsAsync to interact with the permissions.

Returns:

[null | PermissionResponse, RequestPermissionMethod<PermissionResponse>, GetPermissionMethod<PermissionResponse>]

Example

const [permissionResponse, requestPermission] = Brightness.usePermissions();

Deprecated Use restoreSystemBrightnessAsync method instead.

`useSystemBrightnessAsync()`

Only for:

Android

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <void>

Methods

`Brightness.getBrightnessAsync()`

Gets the current brightness level of the device's main screen.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <number>

A Promise that fulfils with a number between 0 and 1, inclusive, representing the current screen brightness.

`Brightness.getPermissionsAsync()`

Checks user's permissions for accessing system brightness.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <PermissionResponse>

A promise that fulfils with an object of type PermissionResponse .

`Brightness.getSystemBrightnessAsync()`

Only for:

Android

Gets the global system screen brightness.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <number>

A Promise that is resolved with a number between 0 and 1, inclusive, representing the current system screen brightness.

`Brightness.getSystemBrightnessModeAsync()`

Only for:

Android

Gets the system brightness mode (e.g. whether or not the OS will automatically adjust the screen brightness depending on ambient light).

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <[BrightnessMode](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness#brightnessmode) >

A Promise that fulfils with a BrightnessMode . Requires SYSTEM_BRIGHTNESS permissions.

`Brightness.isAvailableAsync()`

Returns whether the Brightness API is enabled on the current device. This does not check the app permissions.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <boolean>

Async boolean, indicating whether the Brightness API is available on the current device. Currently this resolves true on iOS and Android only.

`Brightness.isUsingSystemBrightnessAsync()`

Only for:

Android

Returns a boolean specifying whether or not the current activity is using the system-wide brightness value.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <boolean>

A Promise that fulfils with true when the current activity is using the system-wide brightness value, and false otherwise.

`Brightness.requestPermissionsAsync()`

Asks the user to grant permissions for accessing system brightness.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <PermissionResponse>

A promise that fulfils with an object of type PermissionResponse .

`Brightness.restoreSystemBrightnessAsync()`

Only for:

Android

Resets the brightness setting of the current activity to use the system-wide brightness value rather than overriding it.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <void>

A Promise that fulfils when the setting has been successfully changed.

`Brightness.setBrightnessAsync(brightnessValue)`

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | brightnessValue | number | A number between 0 and 1, inclusive, representing the desired screen brightness. |

Sets the current screen brightness. On iOS, this setting will persist until the device is locked, after which the screen brightness will revert to the user's default setting. On Android, this setting only applies to the current activity; it will override the system brightness value whenever your app is in the foreground.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <void>

A Promise that fulfils when the brightness has been successfully set.

`Brightness.setSystemBrightnessAsync(brightnessValue)`

Only for:

Android

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | brightnessValue | number | A number between 0 and 1, inclusive, representing the desired screen brightness. |

Sets the global system screen brightness and changes the brightness mode to MANUAL. Requires SYSTEM_BRIGHTNESS permissions.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <void>

A Promise that fulfils when the brightness has been successfully set.

`Brightness.setSystemBrightnessModeAsync(brightnessMode)`

Only for:

Android

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | brightnessMode | [BrightnessMode](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness#brightnessmode) | One of BrightnessMode.MANUAL or BrightnessMode.AUTOMATIC. The system brightness mode cannot be set to BrightnessMode.UNKNOWN. |

Sets the system brightness mode.

Returns:

[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <void>

Event Subscriptions

`Brightness.addBrightnessListener(listener)`

Only for:

iOS

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | listener | (event: [BrightnessEvent](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness#brightnessevent) ) => void | A callback that is invoked when brightness (iOS) changes. The callback is provided a single argument that is an object with a brightness key. |

Subscribe to brightness (iOS) updates. The event fires whenever the power mode is toggled.

On web and android the event never fires.

Returns:

EventSubscription

A Subscription object on which you can call remove() to unsubscribe from the listener.

Types

`BrightnessEvent`

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | brightness | number | A number between 0 and 1, inclusive, representing the current screen brightness. |

`PermissionExpiration`

Literal Type: union

Permission expiration time. Currently, all permissions are granted permanently.

Acceptable values are: 'never' | number

`PermissionHookOptions`

Literal Type: union

Acceptable values are: PermissionHookBehavior | Options

`PermissionResponse`

An object obtained by permissions get and request functions.

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | canAskAgain | boolean | Indicates if user can be asked again for specific permission. If not, one should be directed to the Settings app in order to enable/disable the permission. | | expires | [PermissionExpiration](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness#permissionexpiration) | Determines time when the permission expires. | | granted | boolean | A convenience boolean that indicates if the permission is granted. | | status | [PermissionStatus](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/brightness#permissionstatus) | Determines the status of the permission. |

Enums

`BrightnessMode`

`UNKNOWN`

BrightnessMode.UNKNOWN ＝ 0

Means that the current brightness mode cannot be determined.

`AUTOMATIC`

BrightnessMode.AUTOMATIC ＝ 1

Mode in which the device OS will automatically adjust the screen brightness depending on the ambient light.

`MANUAL`

BrightnessMode.MANUAL ＝ 2

Mode in which the screen brightness will remain constant and will not be adjusted by the OS.

`PermissionStatus`

`DENIED`

PermissionStatus.DENIED ＝ "denied"

User has denied the permission.

`GRANTED`

PermissionStatus.GRANTED ＝ "granted"

User has granted the permission.

`UNDETERMINED`

PermissionStatus.UNDETERMINED ＝ "undetermined"

User hasn't granted or denied the permission yet.

Error codes

`ERR_BRIGHTNESS`

An error occurred when getting or setting the app brightness.

`ERR_BRIGHTNESS_MODE`

An error occurred when getting or setting the system brightness mode. See the nativeError property of the thrown error for more information.

`ERR_BRIGHTNESS_PERMISSIONS_DENIED`

An attempt to set the system brightness was made without the proper permissions from the user. The user did not grant SYSTEM_BRIGHTNESS permissions.

`ERR_BRIGHTNESS_SYSTEM`

An error occurred when getting or setting the system brightness.

`ERR_INVALID_ARGUMENT`

An invalid argument was passed. Only BrightnessMode.MANUAL or BrightnessMode.AUTOMATIC are allowed.

Permissions

Android

You must add the following permissions to your app.json inside the expo.android.permissions array.

| Android Permission | Description | | --- | --- | | WRITE_SETTINGS | Allows an application to read or write the system settings. |

iOS

No permissions required.