How to Change Your App Icon

This article provides a detailed guide on how to change your app icon on computers, smartphones, or tablets. Customizing the app icon allows you to personalize your device’s home screen or desktop with images and colors that reflect your personal style and aesthetic preferences. For Android, you will need a third-party app to modify the icon, but if you're using an iPhone or iPad (with iOS 14 or later), Windows, or macOS, you can change the icon without any additional software.

Save the icon you want to use to your photo library. If you've updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 14 or later, you don't need a third-party app to change your icon! Start by finding some icons or images on the web and saving them to your device—usually by tapping and holding the icon, then selecting Save Image.

• If you're not sure where to begin, try searching for 'cool iPhone icons' to see what you can find, or search for characters, objects, or any image via Google Photos. You can also check out icon websites like Icons8 or Flaticon; when using free icon sites, make sure to download the icons in PNG format for iPhone/iPad compatibility.
• If you're feeling creative, you can design your own icons using design apps like Photoshop.

Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad. The Shortcuts app features a blue icon with pink and green squares. You will find this app on your home screen or in the Performance and Finance folder within the App Library.

• Since the app is designed for shortcuts, you will not see a notification badge on the new app icon.

Tap on the +. This option is located at the top right corner.

Tap on the Add Action (Add Action). The screen will display suggestions and a search bar.

Type open app into the search bar. A list of results will appear immediately.

Tap on Choose (Select) and pick the app you want. This action adds the selected app to the field above.

Tap on ••• and select Add to Home Screen (Add to Home Screen). The three-dot icon appears in the top right corner. A preview of the shortcut icon will show up.

Select the new icon that will represent the app. To do this:

• Tap on the placeholder icon next to "New Shortcut 1" at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap on Choose Photo to open your photos.
• Pick the image you want to use as the icon. If the image doesn’t fit within the square, follow the on-screen instructions to crop it.

Replace "New Shortcut 1" with the name of the app. The name you enter here will be displayed as the app's name on your home screen.

Tap on Add (Add) in the top right corner. The new app icon will now appear on your home screen.

• To open the app, simply tap the new icon on your home screen to launch the shortcut and tap on the app’s name.
• If you want to change the icon for another app, return to the Shortcuts app, add a new action to open the desired app, and select a new icon as you did before.

Try the Samsung Galaxy icon pack. If you don't own a Samsung phone or tablet, skip to the next step. Otherwise, here’s a super simple way to find and change to free icons on a Galaxy device. Follow these steps:

• Press and hold an empty area of your home screen, then select Themes.
• Tap on Icons.
• Swipe up to view all the available icon packs and tap on one to preview. Keep in mind, not all packs are free.
• If it’s a free option, tap Download, or tap the price if it's paid, and follow the on-screen instructions to confirm.
• Once you’ve downloaded the pack, press and hold an empty area on the home screen, choose Themes, tap Icons, and then tap My Page in the top right corner. Under "My Stuff", select the icons you want to replace and hit Apply.

Install a new launcher. Since Android is one of the most customizable operating systems, you have hundreds, even thousands, of ways to change your icons. The easiest method is to install a new launcher that alters the design of your Android home screen. With a third-party launcher, you can usually install multiple icon packs with even more customization options than the default ones on your phone or tablet.

• Some Android devices support unique icon packs. Search for your specific Android model along with "Icon Packs" to see what’s available.
• To find a new launcher, open the Play Store and search for "Launcher". Tap on a launcher to read reviews and check screenshots. Here are some popular options with free and paid icon packs: Evie (completely free!), Nova Launcher (free with some paid features), Action Launcher (also free with paid features), and Apus Launcher.

Download an icon pack for your launcher. After installing the launcher, you will access the settings to locate the section for downloading icon packs. If you can’t find a way to download icon packs from your launcher, open Google Play and search for the launcher’s name along with "icon packs". Popular launchers will offer numerous free (and paid) options!

Select an icon pack for your launcher. Sometimes, you will find the option to do this by pressing and holding an empty area on the home screen and selecting Customize or Icons. You can also tap and hold an icon to change it. Most launchers make this process easy, but the steps can vary greatly. Enjoy the experience!

Download and create a new icon. Windows icons use the ICO format, but if you have a PNG file, you can convert it using an online tool like ConvertICO. If you prefer not to create your own icon, check out free icon download sites like Flaticon to find stunning icon packs that can be converted to Windows icon format. Other options include Findicons, Graphic Burger, and Icon Archive.

• Some apps come with several icons to choose from. If you'd rather skip downloading new icons, you can still find suitable alternatives by following these steps.

Create a shortcut for the icon you want to change. This allows you to modify the icon on your desktop screen:

• Press the Windows key to open the Start menu and locate the application.
• Right-click the app, select More, and choose Open file location. This opens the app in its folder.
• Right-click the app and select Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). The shortcut will then be added to your desktop.

Right-click the shortcut on your desktop and select Properties (Properties). The Properties window will appear with the Shortcut tab visible.

Click the Change Icon (Change Icon) button. This button is located near the bottom of the window.

Select an icon (if available) or click Browse (Browse). If you find a suitable icon, select it and click OK. Otherwise, click Browse to locate the downloaded icon.

Choose the icon and click Open (Open). Open the folder containing the .ICO formatted icon and select it. This action will add the icon to the previous screen.

Click OK to select the icon. You will need to click OK twice to save the changes. The application's icon will now be replaced with the one you selected.

Download the icon file for Mac. Mac icons must be in .INCS format as they automatically convert to a suitable image size. Check out icon download sites like Flaticon and Findicons. Even if you find an icon pack without INCS format, you can convert PNG icons to INCS using an online conversion tool such as ConvertICO.

Open the Applications folder. This option is located on the left side of Finder.

Right-click the application icon you wish to change and select Get Info (Get Info). The information section that appears will display the current icon of the application at the top left corner.

Press ⌘ Command+N to open a new Finder window. You'll need to have both windows open simultaneously to perform this action.

Navigate to the folder where the icon you want to use is stored. Open the folder containing the icon to locate the file.

Drag the new ICNS file onto the current icon. Once the new icon is dropped onto the old one, you will be prompted to enter your administrator password for confirmation. After confirming, the new icon will appear immediately.