Change app colors using iPhone's built-in color customization
You can change the colors of most apps on your iPhone through two main routes: using iOS color filters that affect how your entire screen looks, or customizing individual app icons and home screen appearance through the Shortcuts app. The first method is faster and works system-wide. The second method takes more steps but lets you change how specific apps appear on your home screen.
Neither method changes the colors inside the app itself—the buttons, text, and menus stay the same when you open it. What you're changing is how the app looks when it sits on your home screen, or how all colors appear across your phone.
Key Takeaways
- Color filters in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size change how all colors appear on your screen, including app icons.
- You can create custom-colored app icons using the Shortcuts app and a custom icon image, then place them on your home screen instead of the original app.
- Dark Mode and Light Mode in Settings > Display & Brightness change whether your home screen background and app icons appear in dark or light colors.
- App icon color changes made through Shortcuts are visual only—tapping the icon still opens the real app.
- Some apps let you change their internal color scheme (buttons, backgrounds, text) through their own settings, separate from home screen appearance.
Use color filters to change how all app colors appear
Open Settings and go to Accessibility. Tap Display & Text Size, then scroll down and tap Color Filters. Turn on the toggle at the top. You'll see six filter options: Grayscale, Red/Green Filter, Green/Red Filter, Blue/Yellow Filter, and two types of Color Tint.
Each filter shifts all the colors on your screen, including app icons. Grayscale removes all color. The Red/Green and Green/Red filters help people with red-green color blindness see apps and text more clearly. Blue/Yellow helps with blue-yellow color blindness. Color Tint lets you add a single color cast across your entire screen—you can adjust the intensity with a slider.
This change affects everything you see, not just apps. Your photos, websites, and text will all shift color. You can turn the filter off anytime by going back to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters and toggling it off.
Switch between Dark Mode and Light Mode to change icon appearance
Dark Mode makes app icons and your home screen background appear darker. Light Mode makes them brighter. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and tap either Dark or Light. Your phone will switch when ready.
Many app icons look noticeably different in each mode—some appear more colorful in Light Mode, others look softer in Dark Mode. If you want your phone to switch automatically, tap Automatic in Display & Brightness, then choose a schedule (sunset to sunrise is common).
This doesn't change the app's internal colors when you open it. It only changes how the icon appears on your home screen and how your background looks.
Create custom-colored app icons using Shortcuts
The Shortcuts app lets you create a custom icon for any app and place it on your home screen with a different color. Open the Shortcuts app (it comes pre-installed on most iPhones). Tap the plus sign in the top right to create a new shortcut.
Tap Add Action. Search for "Open App" and tap it. Choose the app you want to customize. Go back and tap the three dots in the top right, then tap Add to Home Screen. Give your shortcut a name—this is what will appear under the icon on your home screen.
Tap the icon preview (it will show the app's original icon). Choose "Choose Photo" or "Choose File" to upload a custom image, or tap the colored circle to pick a solid color as your icon. You can also take a photo or draw something. Tap Add, then tap Add to Home Screen. Your custom icon will appear on your home screen.
When you tap this custom icon, it opens the real app just like normal. The original app icon stays in your app library. You now have two ways to open the same app—the custom icon on your home screen and the original in your app library.
Check individual app settings for color customization
Some apps have their own color settings inside the app. Open the app and look for Settings or Preferences, usually found by tapping a gear icon or three horizontal lines. Search for words like "Theme," "Color," "Appearance," or "Display."
For example, Apple Maps has a dark and light mode toggle in its settings. Many email and note-taking apps let you pick accent colors for buttons and highlights. These changes only affect what you see inside that specific app, not how the icon appears on your home screen.
Not every app offers this. If you don't find a color option in the app's settings, the app doesn't have built-in color customization.
Use widgets to display app information in custom colors
Widgets are small windows on your home screen that show information from an app without opening it. Some widgets let you customize their background color or text color. Long-press an empty area of your home screen, tap the plus sign, find the app, and tap it to see available widgets.
Tap the widget you want, then tap Add Widget. After it appears on your home screen, long-press the widget itself and tap Edit Widget. Depending on the app, you may see options to change the background color, text color, or accent color. Not all widgets offer this—it depends on what the app developer included.
Widgets are different from app icons. A widget shows live information (like weather or calendar events) but doesn't replace the app icon itself.
Troubleshoot color changes that don't appear
If you created a custom icon through Shortcuts but it's not showing the color you chose, make sure you saved the shortcut and added it to your home screen. Custom icons sometimes take a few seconds to appear. Try restarting your phone if the icon still shows the original app image.
If color filters aren't working, check that you turned on the toggle in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. Some older iPhone models may not support all filter types. If Dark Mode or Light Mode isn't changing your home screen appearance, make sure you're not in Auto mode—go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Dark or Light directly.
If an app's internal colors won't change, the app may not have a color setting. Check the app's help section or support page to see if color customization is available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the color of the app icon without using Shortcuts?
Not directly through iPhone settings. The built-in options are color filters (which affect your whole screen), Dark Mode or Light Mode (which change how icons appear), and creating custom icons through Shortcuts. Some apps have their own theme or color settings that change how the app looks when you open it, but not the home screen icon itself.
Will changing app colors affect how the app works?
No. Color filters, Dark Mode, Light Mode, and custom icons are visual changes only. The app's features and functions work exactly the same. Custom icons created through Shortcuts still open the real app when you tap them.
Do color changes sync across my devices?
Dark Mode and Light Mode settings sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac if you use the same Apple ID and have iCloud sync turned on. Color filters and custom Shortcuts icons do not sync—you'll need to set them up separately on each device.
Can I change colors for apps inside folders?
Color filters and Dark Mode affect all apps, including those in folders. Custom icons created through Shortcuts appear on your home screen, not inside folders. If you want a custom icon in a folder, you can create the shortcut and then drag it into a folder after adding it to your home screen.
What if I want to undo color changes?
Turn off color filters in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. Switch back to Light Mode or Dark Mode in Settings > Display & Brightness. Delete custom icons by long-pressing them and tapping Remove from Home Screen. The original app icon and app itself remain unchanged.