What you can change about app appearance on iPhone
iPhone gives you control over how individual apps display on your home screen and in your dock. You can change the app icon itself, the name that appears below it, the color of the icon background, and whether the app shows a notification badge. You can also organize apps into folders, hide apps from your home screen entirely, and use custom icons through the Shortcuts app. The changes you make affect only how the app looks — not how it works.
Most of these changes happen in one of two places: the home screen itself (where you long-press an app) or the Settings app. Some require you to create a custom icon using the Shortcuts app, which is built into iOS. None of these changes cost money or require you to jailbreak your phone.
Key Takeaways
- You can rename any app icon on your home screen by long-pressing it, tapping "Edit Home Screen", and typing a new name.
- Custom app icons are created in the Shortcuts app, not in Settings, and they replace the original icon only on your home screen.
- App Library automatically organizes apps by category and hides them from your home screen if you choose, reducing clutter.
- Notification badges (the red circles with numbers) can be turned off per app in Settings under Notifications.
- Folders let you group related apps together, and you can name folders anything you want.
Renaming apps on your home screen
The simplest change is renaming an app. Long-press the app icon on your home screen until a menu appears. Tap "Edit Home Screen" (or "Edit App" if that option shows). A text field will appear above the icon with the current app name highlighted. Delete the text and type a new name — you can use up to 15 characters, though longer names will wrap to two lines.
Tap outside the text field or press Return to save. The new name appears when ready below the icon. This change only affects your home screen; the app itself still has its original name in Settings and in search results. If you rename an app and later want to undo it, long-press it again and delete your custom name to restore the original.
Creating custom app icons with Shortcuts
If you want to replace an app icon with a different image, you use the Shortcuts app. Open Shortcuts, tap the plus icon in the top right, and select "Create Personal Automation" (or "Create Shortcut" if you want to do it manually). Tap "App" and choose the app you want to customize. Then tap "Add Action" and search for "Open App" — select the same app again. Tap the three dots in the top right, then tap "Add to Home Screen".
A dialog will appear asking for a name and icon. Tap the icon preview to choose a new image: you can take a photo, pick one from your library, or select from the built-in icon library. Once you save, a new icon appears on your home screen that opens the app when tapped. The original app icon remains unchanged in your app library. You can create multiple custom icons for the same app if you want different versions.
Organizing apps into folders
Folders reduce home screen clutter by grouping related apps. Drag one app icon onto another app icon and hold until a folder appears. iOS automatically suggests a category name (like "Productivity" or "Games"), but you can change it by tapping the name field and typing something else. Drag additional apps into the folder by dragging them onto the folder icon.
To open a folder, tap it once. To remove an app from a folder, long-press the folder, tap "Edit Home Screen", then drag the app out and release it. To delete a folder, remove all apps from it — the folder disappears automatically. Folders can contain up to nine apps per page, and you can swipe within a folder to add more pages.
Using App Library to hide apps from your home screen
App Library is a separate view that automatically sorts all your apps by category — Social, Productivity, Health, Games, and so on. You can hide apps from your home screen while keeping them in App Library, which reduces visual clutter. Swipe to the rightmost home screen page and you will see App Library. All your apps are there, organized by type.
To hide apps from your home screen but keep them in App Library, go to Settings, tap Home Screen, and select "App Library Only" for the apps you want to hide. They will no longer appear on any home screen page, but you can still find them by swiping to App Library or by searching. This is useful for apps you use occasionally but do not want visible every day.
Turning off notification badges
The red circles with numbers that appear on app icons are notification badges. You can turn them off for individual apps in Settings. Open Settings, tap Notifications, find the app in the list, and toggle off "Badge App Icon". The badge will no longer appear on that app, even if you have unread messages or updates.
You can also turn off badges for all apps at once by going to Settings, Notifications, and toggling off "Badge App Icon" at the top. If you want badges for some apps but not others, turn off the global setting and then turn it back on only for the apps where you want to see them.
Changing the color of app icons
iOS does not let you change the background color of individual app icons directly. However, you can create custom icons with any background color you want using the Shortcuts method described above. When you add an icon to your home screen through Shortcuts, you choose the image, and that image can have any background color you design.
If you want all your app icons to have a consistent look, you can create a custom icon set by designing images in a photo editor or using an app like Figma, then importing them into Shortcuts one by one. This takes more time than renaming or organizing, but it gives you complete control over the visual appearance of your home screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the app icon without using Shortcuts?
No. The Shortcuts app is the only built-in way to create custom home screen icons on iPhone. Some third-party apps claim to change icons, but they actually create shortcuts that look like icons — they do not change the original app icon itself.
If I rename an app, does it change the name in the App Store?
No. Renaming only changes what appears below the icon on your home screen. The app keeps its original name everywhere else: in Settings, in search results, in the App Store, and in your notifications.
Can I undo changes I made to app appearance?
Yes. For renamed apps, long-press the icon and delete the custom name. For custom icons created in Shortcuts, delete the shortcut from your home screen — the original app icon remains in App Library. Folders disappear automatically when you remove all apps from them.
Do custom icons work on the lock screen?
No. Custom icons appear only on your home screen. The lock screen shows the original app icons. iOS 16 and later let you customize your lock screen appearance, but that is a separate feature from home screen customization.
What happens if I delete an app and then want to restore its custom icon?
If you delete the app, the custom icon shortcut will no longer open anything. You would need to reinstall the app and recreate the custom icon in Shortcuts. The shortcut itself remains on your home screen but becomes non-functional.