🔦
The side screen blinds you
A white web page next to a dark game kills the mood and makes the game look washed out.
Fixed: it fades dark by itself the moment you go fullscreen.
For Windows · 2+ monitors
Dim the distractions. Not the messages.
When your game or movie goes fullscreen, SideDim gently darkens your other monitors. When a friend messages you, only that app lights up, glowing in its own colour, then fades back.
Automatic in fullscreen
No account, no cloud
No injection into games
Free core app
Main screen
♥ 100 · ◆ 2,480
Side screen
💬 Alex: you on tonight?
Normal desktopGame goes fullscreenSide screen dimsA message lights up its app
Sound familiar?
Two monitors are great.
Two monitors are great.
Until the lights go out.
A second screen is perfect for chat and guides, and terrible in a dark horror game or a movie at night. Here's what SideDim fixes.
🔕
Turning it off means missing people
Switch the monitor off and you miss the message from your friend, or the one from work.
Fixed: only the app that messaged you lights up, so you see it without the glare.
🔁
Fiddling with brightness every time
Monitor buttons, sliders and night modes, again and again, every time you start or stop playing.
Fixed: automatic. Your darkness per monitor and per game, remembered.
🎥
Streams catch the black overlay
Some dimmers show up in OBS or Discord screen share as a big black box.
Fixed: SideDim hides its dimming from screen capture, so your stream looks normal.
Without SideDimWith SideDim
How it works
Install. Play. That's it.
SideDim sits quietly in the tray. There's nothing to set up unless you want to.
Start a game or video
Anything fullscreen on one monitor, like a game, a YouTube video or a movie. SideDim notices on its own.
The other screens fade dark
Smoothly, never a hard blackout. The edge next to your game can even glow in the game's colours.
Messages still reach you
When Discord, WhatsApp, Teams… pings you, just that window lights up for a moment, then it's dark again.
The first time you open SideDim, a 30-second welcome tour shows you everything. Want to see it before a real game? The ▶ Try with a test game button shows the whole thing in 10 seconds.
Features
Small app. Lots of magic.
Every demo below is live. Click, hover and press keys.
Smart wake-up
Only the app that messaged you lights up
Each app gets its own colour. Choose how it says hello:
- Spotlight: only that window comes out of the dark, with a glowing outline. The app's window has to be open on a dimmed screen (not minimised or closed to the tray); if it isn't, SideDim uses Glow instead
- Glow: the screen edge breathes softly in the app's colour
- Brighten: the whole screen lights up for a moment
- Ignore the apps you never want to hear from
💬 New message
Flashlight
Need something on the dark screen? Shine a light.
Move your mouse onto a dimmed monitor and a soft light follows it, so you can find that one button without undimming anything.
- Like a real torch: the room stays still, only your light moves
- Themed lights: a warm lamp in a rainy room, moonlight, sakura, neon
- Pick the size and edge softness
Ambient glow · Pro
Your game spills softly onto the next screen
The edge of the dark monitor glows in the colours at the edge of your game, like bias lighting behind a TV. It looks bigger, and it's easier on the eyes.
- Follows the game a few times a second, smoothly
- Subtle, Normal or Vivid
- Switches off by itself when you leave the game
dimmed side screen
Shortcuts
Your keys, your rules
Two shortcuts that work everywhere, even inside a game. Change them to anything you like: click Change in the app and press your keys.
- Ctrl+Alt+D: dim or undim right now
- Hold Ctrl+Alt+P: peek, everything bright while you hold it
- Uses the normal Windows shortcut system, no keyboard hooks
Ctrl+Alt+D
Try it: press Ctrl+Alt+D, hold Ctrl+Alt+P, or click the keys
🖥️
Darkness per monitor
Keep the chat screen a little brighter and the far one pitch black.
🎮
Game profiles
Darker for horror games, lighter for strategy. Remembered per game.
🙈
Invisible to recordings
OBS, Game Bar and screen share see your screen normally, without the black layer.
💡
Real backlight dimming
On monitors that support it (DDC/CI), SideDim can also turn the real backlight down. Always restored afterwards.
🔔
Recent notifications
See exactly which messages SideDim noticed, and send yourself a test one.
🚀
Starts with Windows
Lives in the tray. Click the icon to dim now or open settings.
The Shop
Make your setup yours
Bundles of a matching frame, particles and flashlight, styled after the looks people love on their desktops. Try any of them on your own screens for free.
❄ Limited · Winter Wonderland
-
left this season. Frost frame, snowfall and a snow-globe light. Back next winter.
🎁 Free bundle of the month
Free to keep
Every month one bundle is free for everyone. Claim it in the app and it's yours for good.
Previews are drawn live in your browser. In the app they run on your GPU and are hidden from screen capture.
Light & private
Built to stay out of your way
No account. No cloud. No ads. No tracking. Everything happens on your PC.
0
Accounts, servers or analytics. Your settings live in one file on your PC.
0
Hooks or code injected into games. It only uses normal Windows windows and shortcuts.
0
Frames per second for a notification effect in our tests, smooth and short.
1–5%
Of one CPU core while you move the flashlight; it rests when you don't.
Measured on our own test PC with Windows 11. Your numbers will differ a little.
Pricing
Free to use. Pro if you love it.
One payment, yours forever. No subscription.
Free
€0
- Automatic dimming in fullscreen
- Notification Spotlight, Glow & Brighten
- Classic flashlight
- Darkness per monitor & per game
- Keep apps bright: your chat, OBS or Spotify stays visible
- Custom shortcuts, peek
- Hidden from screen capture
- Free frames, particles + the free bundle of the month
Pro Launch price
€4.99€6.99
- Everything in Free
- Every bundle in the Shop
- All animated frames, particles & flashlights
- Limited seasonal bundles
- Ambient glow
- Customise every colour, size and amount
- New items as they come out
- Try it free for 7 days in the app — no card, nothing to cancel
One payment · 14-day refund, no questions
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is it safe with anti-cheat games?
SideDim never touches the game. It doesn't inject code, hook the keyboard or read game memory. It only places normal see-through windows on your other monitors and uses the standard Windows shortcut system. That's the same kind of thing many overlay and tray apps do.
Does it work with Discord, WhatsApp, Teams…?
Yes. SideDim listens to normal Windows notifications, so any app that shows them works: Discord, WhatsApp, Telegram, Teams, Slack, Outlook and more. If an app's notifications are turned off in Windows, SideDim can't see them either. The app's Recent notifications list shows exactly what arrived.
Does the dimming show up when I stream or record?
No, not by default. SideDim hides its layers from screen capture, so OBS, Game Bar and Discord screen share record your screens normally. You can turn this off if you want the dimming in your video.
Will it slow down my game?
It's built to be tiny. Dimming is a still, see-through layer the GPU draws for free. The effects use a few percent of one CPU core while they play, then rest. It never runs on the monitor with your game.
Does it actually lower my monitor's brightness?
By default it darkens with a layer, which works on every monitor. If your monitor supports DDC/CI you can also let SideDim turn down the real backlight. It's always put back, even after a crash.
Do I need an account? What data do you collect?
No account. We don't collect anything: no analytics, no telemetry. Settings are stored in a small file on your PC.
Which Windows versions?
Windows 11, and Windows 10 (version 2004 or newer). You need two or more monitors to get the most out of it.
What if I don't like a bundle after buying Pro?
Pro unlocks everything in the Shop, so you can switch looks any time. And you can try any bundle on your own screens before buying anything.
Coming soon to the Microsoft Store
Game in the dark.
Game in the dark.
Your friends still find you.
SideDim is in final testing. It will be free on the Microsoft Store, with Pro at a launch price.
Coming soon Windows 10 & 11