Do autos really need absolute darkness at "night"?

No autoflowers dont need darkness... Some plants do benefit from "night time" but weed/hemp/marijuanna is not one of them. Usually plants that benefits from darkness/night are big plants that lives multiple seasons while small plants that only lives for one season dont really need darkness and can benefit from 24 hours of light. Photoperiods on the other hand, have their flowering triggered by the amount of light they get (and wavelengths) as they are bred from plants that used to grow in areas with distinguished seasons. with that being said.. it is not necesary to provide 24 hours of light. If the light you provide is strong less can be more than sufficient. theres a maximum amount of light that the plant can absorb and giving it more wont increase its growth but just provide you with a larger energy bill. Look into PPFD and DLI for more information about Daily Light (index) for autoflowers.... On my diary growdiaries.com/diaries/201897-danestrains-grow-journal-by-vantheman/week/1143631 i have made some measurements on the light output of my lamps to get a pointer on how long my lamps should be turned on to provide enough light for a plant in flowering.

I work in the greenhouses where we plant about 4000 autos at a time. The closest thing to a dark period they ever receive is when the lights shut down for a few hours in the middle of the day when plenty of IR spectrum bleeds through the walls. They grow fine.....some of the biggest plants you'll ever see lol. Instead of listening to people on the internet who want to attribute human characteristics to plants like "rest" or "sleep", familiarize yourself with the Calvin cycle and C3 and C4 type plants. You'll learn more and be better informed.

You shouldn't give an auto 24hrs of light or any plant for that matter Dark rests put the stop the photochrome. (Plants photosynthetic reaction). Plants take 2 hrs 2 fall asleep and in doing so they build up energy reserves to push your plant when the light comes back on. If using the light 24-7 your plant will have no bursts of energy. Growth will be slow & stressful.. Autos run on a system of DLI LIGHT PPF + HRS GIVEN GIVING U A DLI you should implement with autos. I would say this also. Yes, plants tat are put 2 sleep should have no uv rays hitting them. Use a phototone app to see if any lux is hitting your plant during the dark hrs. Look up DLI & how autos work But not good 2 run autos 2

autos don't need absolute darkness and can continue flowering under a 24hr schedule however they do better with a rest between 18/6 and 20/4 schedule

Not "absolute" darkness, but un-interrupted darkness.....that is, no waking them up with bright light when they are "sleeping".