Is your eye colour hazel or green? Grey or blue? Light brown or amber? Eye colour is surprisingly hard to name by looking in a mirror. This detector finds your irises in a photo, samples hundreds of pixels from each one and tells you which colour they match most closely.
Free · No sign-up · Runs on your device
Upload a close, well-lit photo with your eyes fully open. We sample the colour of your irises and name the closest eye colour.
- Your photo stays on your device. It is analysed in your browser and never uploaded to us or anyone else.
- Nothing is saved. Close the page or press "Remove my photo" and it is gone.
- Open-source models. Your browser downloads the model files once; see how our photo tools work.
How The Detector Reads Your Eyes
- Finding the irises. The face model marks the centre and edge of each iris.
- Choosing the right pixels. We sample a ring inside each iris, skipping the pupil in the middle and the dark rim at the edge, and ignoring anything covered by your eyelids.
- Removing noise. Bright reflections from lights and the darkest pixels (lashes and shadows) are dropped.
- Measuring the colour. The remaining pixels are converted to a colour space designed to match human vision, and we take the middle values for lightness, hue and colour strength.
- Naming it. We also count green flecks, which helps tell hazel from brown.
The tool reads from the full-resolution photo, so a close, sharp picture gives the most reliable result.
The Eye Colours It Recognises
| Colour | What creates it |
|---|---|
| Dark brown | Lots of melanin in the iris |
| Light brown | Moderate melanin, can look honey-coloured in sunlight |
| Amber | An even golden or copper colour |
| Hazel | A mix of brown and green, often with a ring around the pupil |
| Green | A little yellowish pigment combined with light scattering |
| Grey | Little melanin, with a silvery look |
| Blue | Very little melanin; the colour comes from scattered light |
The Science Of Eye Colour
Blue and green eyes contain no blue or green pigment. Like the sky, they owe their colour to the way light scatters in the front layer of the iris. The more melanin there is, the more light is absorbed and the browner the eye looks.
Eye colour is not controlled by one simple “brown beats blue” gene, as many school textbooks once taught. Variants near the OCA2 and HERC2 genes have the biggest effect, but many other genes contribute, which is why two blue-eyed parents can occasionally have a child with brown eyes.
Brown is by far the most common eye colour worldwide. Blue is common in parts of northern and eastern Europe, while green is among the rarest colours globally.
Why Your Eyes Seem To Change Colour
Your iris does not change colour from day to day, but your perception of it does. Lighting, the colour of your clothes, make-up and pupil size all shift how light eyes look. Many babies of European descent are born with blue or grey eyes that darken during the first year as melanin develops. If one or both of your eyes changes colour noticeably as an adult, see an optometrist or doctor, as it can be a sign of an eye condition.
Tips For An Accurate Reading
- Use natural daylight from a window, facing the light.
- Hold the camera at eye level and open your eyes wide.
- Remove glasses and coloured contact lenses.
- Turn off filters and beauty modes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does it say hazel when I think my eyes are green?
Hazel and green overlap. If the tool finds a mix of green and brown pixels, it names the eye hazel. Try a photo in brighter daylight.
What is heterochromia?
Heterochromia means the two eyes, or parts of one iris, are different colours. This tool averages both eyes, so it may not capture it.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Everything is analysed in your browser.
Related Tools
Use your result in our AI colour analysis or virtual make-up try-on, or see all photo tools.
For fun and curiosity. Photo colour depends on lighting and cameras, so treat the result as an estimate.