How to Create App Icons in Dark Mode for IPhone
One of my favorite new features in iOS 18 is the customizable Home screen . I like the subtlety of the new tinted icons option, but the dark mode icons have an unrivaled vibrancy. Especially after I upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, seeing dark mode icons on the home screen was a real joy.
But this joy doesn’t extend to every app. Many developers offer their own versions of dark mode icons, but there are quite a few apps, even from major developers, that simply don’t have their own dark mode icons. These include banking apps or even two-factor apps like Google Authenticator.
Apparently I’m not the only one affected by this issue because Redditor Straight_Random_2211 shared a shortcut-based process to create dark mode icons for any app.
Here’s how it works. You use a simple and free website tool to remove an icon’s background and then change it to the dark background shade Apple uses in its own apps. Then use the Shortcuts app to add an app shortcut to your Home screen with a new icon. In most cases, this creates a good enough dark mode icon replacement so that you don’t have to search for a custom dark mode icon online.
To get started, first download and install the Get App Icon shortcut . Open the Shortcuts app and tap the Get app icon shortcut. Enter the name of the application for which you want to download the application icon. The shortcut will now be searchable in the App Store. Select the correct application from the search results. After a couple of seconds, the Shortcuts app will retain the original app icon in the Photos app.
Now open the Reddit link containing the dark mode background image (as a backup, here’s the Imgur link ). Next, long-press on the image and tap “Save to Photos” to save it to the Photos app.
Now we can start the process of creating a new application icon. Open Remove.bg’s Change Background tool and click the blue Upload Image button. Here, select the icon of the application you just downloaded. Then, under Background Image, tap the Select File icon. Here, select a dark background image in the Photos app.
You will immediately see the new photo in dark mode. Touch and hold the image, then select Save to Photos from the menu.
Now we’re back to the Shortcuts app to create a Home screen shortcut for the new dark icon. Here, tap the Plus icon on top to create a new shortcut and select Open App as the action. Tap the blue ” App ” text box in the action and select the app that matches the dark mode icon we created above.
Now click on the down arrow button at the top and select the Add to Home Screen option. Here, first change the app name and tap the switch image option. Then click the Select Photo button and select the new dark mode icon you just created. Click the “Add” button to complete the process.
And just like that, you have a new dark mode icon that goes with everything else!
Repeat this process to convert more apps to the dark side. Just remember to create new shortcuts for each new app. Also note that your experience may vary depending on the dark mode icon, as not every icon will look good when simply flipping the background in dark mode.
For example, the Amazon icon with a dark background doesn’t quite work because the famous Amazon AZ arrow is also black. In this case, you can search for a dark icon on the Internet and use it. With a quick Google search I found a good option here . The shortcut will be the same – just use a downloaded icon instead of creating a dark mode icon yourself.