Eclipse- is it safe to watch through your phone on selfie mode?

[Wonderwoman333]

Does anyone know if it's safe for your eyes to turn your back to the sun and put your phone in selfie mode to watch the eclipse?
I left it too late to buy glasses.

We made pinhole cameras when we were children. It’s ridiculously easy

Is this why the Bonnie Tyler song starts with 'Turn around...' because you shouldn't look at a Total Eclipse?

i'm near glasgow and I can't see anything, the sun looks normal to me and its half 6, can anyone else see anythign yet around this area?

NO YOU WILL DROP DEAD IMMEDIATELY - DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS

Indeed! Or the sad face stories from folk who bought the Temu version of eclipse glasses and burned their retinas out. I wish the laugh emoji was still on here. Some really funny comments. Don’t strain your eyes while using a colander. Absolutely excellent. I was around for the 1999 one. I remember watching it with my late DM who turned to me and said ‘was that it’? 😂 Very underwhelming perhaps it was because of our location at the time.

18:48 BST here (north of London), image taken with a pizza oven pan with sunlight through it.

Safe and no need for anything fancy!

I’ve just found my old iPhone and am using that in selfie mode

Based on the fact our neighbouring farm had a fire today started by a bit of glass in the field and the sun I don’t think glass objects and the sun are a good mix!

I can still see all the sun.

The last partial eclipse I saw it all happened really quickly.

You don’t need to look at it really -it gets dark, cold ,quiet and spooky - that’s enough - just sit outside

They are shade no 12, marked on the glass. We're at the local country park, and it's pretty bonkers here. A whole mixture of welding masks, colander & everything in-between 🤣

Nothing here yet but it is getting colder
pic is pinhole on paper

It’s getting a bit darker

Bit of a damp squib here -some cloud so not much to see and a bit darker and colder - I’d expected a full eclipse like 1999

DH brought home 2 welding masks so we had a look through them, just glimpses not full on staring

Took this from behind a wall super quick. My camera is fine. Can’t see anything but my mum did the pinhole thing at the same time and it was 1/3rd covered! So you won’t see anything it’s too bright

There's a bloke on the BBC live feed who watched the 1999 one through a welder's mask and permanently damaged his retinas, warning others not to do this - protection is not sufficient @DeadMemories

Pinhole pic. Something definitely happened...

BBC piece:

A man who suffered permanent eye damage by watching the 1999 solar eclipse has warned people to use protection when watching Wednesday's astronomical event.
Peter Smith, from Taunton in Somerset, viewed the solar eclipse 27 years ago wearing a borrowed welder's mask having thought it would provide protection from the sun's rays.
But the next morning he noticed flashing in his eyes alongside headaches and later discovered both of his retinas had been damaged. He is now asking people to use appropriate eye protection to enjoy the eclipse safely.
"Make sure it's got the right protection and filters to stop any damage because any damage you get, it'll never heal. It's not like cutting your hand," he says.
Smith says he still feels the effects of looking at the eclipse directly.
"Even now there is a residual impact. When I'm tired sometimes a flashing dot might come back, and it's not nice when it does.
"If you're going to go and watch it, make sure that everything you've got is correct."

I heard that too so we only had a 1 or 2 second glimpse, then left it for 10 minutes then had another quick glimpse, I think the bloke on the radio was staring at the sun long periods with the welders mask

We used the pinhole method which worked surprisingly well.

I've read The Day of the Triffids!