We built a screen overlay app to relieve astigmatism — here's how it works
Hi r/astigmatism,
We're the team behind ComfortEyes, a small Windows app designed to make long hours in front of a screen easier on your eyes. We wanted to share what we built and hear from anyone who's dealt with similar issues.
ComfortEyes takes a different approach: it lays two customizable image filters directly over your entire desktop, giving your display the calm, paper-like quality of an e-ink screen. Text comes out sharper and more defined, while overall glare and brightness are toned down.
The idea came from frustration with the fact that astigmatism causes the eye to perceive a faint ghost image slightly offset from the original — which is a big part of why screens feel so tiring to look at. ComfortEye's invert-shift filter works by introducing an equal and opposite offset layer that cancels out that ghost image, reducing the visual confusion your eyes are constantly trying to correct for. The X/Y Shift settings let you tune this offset to match your specific condition, which is why some users find a particular shift value that feels noticeably more comfortable than others.
Tweakable filter parameters:
- X/Y Shift — nudges the filter layer slightly off-center to create a subtle edge enhancement effect around fonts, making text easier to read at a glance. Small non-zero values like 3 or 4 pixels also produce a natural 3D depth effect on text that users may find easier to focus on
- Blend — controls the strength of the effect; higher values deepen the e-ink look but also dim the screen, so you can dial it to your preference
The free trial pauses every 20 minutes to remind you to take a short break — just press Resume when you're ready, and repeat as many times as you like. It's the 20-20-20 rule baked right in.
Checkout ComfortEyes on Microsoft App Store
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9mvjqdtx3sqb?hl=en-US&gl=US
Happy to answer any questions about how it works or the thinking behind it.