How to customise your iPhone’s app icons: A step-by-step guide

At the launch of Nothing Phone 2 this year, the company’s founder highlighted the monochromatic home screen of the smartphone. They removed colours from the app icons and made some visual adjustments. In my opinion, the screen appeared more organized and less cluttered than before.

There is a similar feature in iPhone, which lets users change the app icon with any picture they like. All they have to do is create a shortcut for the app, and they can use their favorite picture as the icon of the app.

If this sound interesting to you and you want to change the icon of any app with a picture that you like, here is a step-by-step guide on how to customise your iPhone’s app icons.

A step-by-step guide on how to customise your iPhone’s app icons.

Step 1: Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. It comes with your phone; if you can’t find it on your homescreen, swipe left to get to the App Library and type “Shortcuts” in the search bar at the top.

Step 2: Tap on the + button at the top-right corner to make a new shortcut. At the top of the screen, you’ll see a default name like “New Shortcut.” If you want to change it, tap on the arrow next to it and choose Rename.

Step 3: Tap on Add Action and look for Open App. Tap on it when you see it. Tap on the faint word App next to the word Open in the search bar. You’ll see all the apps on your phone; select the one you want to change the icon for. The app name will now appear next to the word Open.

Step 4: Tap on the … button at the top-right corner to edit the shortcut details. Tap on the info icon (an “i” in a circle) at the bottom of the screen. Tap on Add to Home Screen.

Step 5: Tap on the icon under Home Screen Name and Icon and pick Take Photo, Choose Photo, or Choose File depending on where your custom icon is saved. If you’ve picked an existing photo, a highlighted area will show what part of the photo will be used as an icon; you can move the photo around until you like the section shown. Tap on Choose in the bottom-right corner.

Step 6: Type a name for your shortcut and tap on Add at the top-right corner. You’ll now see your new custom icon on your homescreen.

Step 7: You can also hide the original app icon so you’ll only have the new one visible. (Don’t delete it completely, though; that would delete the app.) Long-press on your wallpaper until all your icons start shaking. Tap on the minus sign of the app you want to hide. On the pop-up menu, tap Remove from Home Screen. The original icon will be hidden, not deleted; you can always find it in the App Library.

It is worth noting that when you use your new icon to go to the app, you will sometimes get a small drop-down notice that tells you what the original app is called and reminds you of the fact that it is a shortcut. But the drop-down will only last for a couple of seconds, so it shouldn’t bother you much.