How Do You Customize Your iPhone Home Screen?
To customize your iPhone home screen, long press on any empty area of the screen and tap Customize. From there you can change your app icons to dark, light, or tinted — and with tinted mode, you pick the color. You can also hide entire home screen pages by tapping the page dots at the bottom of the edit screen. This feature is available on iPhones running iOS 18 or later.
What Home Screen Customization Options Does iOS 18 Add?
iOS 18 gave iPhone users more control over the look of their home screen than any previous update. The biggest addition is the ability to change the style of all your app icons at once — no shortcuts, no third-party apps.
In this J's Tech Corner video, I walk through the three icon styles: dark, tinted, and light (automatic). I also cover how to hide home screen pages you do not use every day so your phone feels cleaner and more organized.
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How to Customize iPhone App Icons (Step by Step)
Start by long pressing on any empty area of your iPhone home screen. Tap the Customize button that appears in the lower left corner of the screen.
A panel slides up from the bottom showing your icon style options: Automatic, Dark, Tinted, and Light. Tap any option to preview it. Dark mode gives all your icons a dark background. Light keeps the standard look. Tinted lets you pick a custom color — a color wheel and brightness slider appear so you can dial in exactly the shade you want.
To use tinted mode for color coding, select Tinted and adjust the color to match whatever system works for you. Your changes apply to all icons on all home screen pages at once.
When you are done, tap anywhere outside the panel or press Done in the upper right to save your changes.
How Do You Hide a Home Screen Page on iPhone?
While in home screen edit mode, tap the row of dots near the bottom of the screen that represents your pages. Each page shows a small preview with a checkmark below it. Uncheck any page you want to hide — it will disappear from your home screen but the apps are still on your phone and still accessible through Search.
To bring a hidden page back, return to the same screen and re-check it.
Does This Work on All iPhones?
Icon customization and page hiding require iOS 18 or later. Any iPhone that supports iOS 18 — iPhone XR or newer — can use these features. If your phone is not on iOS 18 yet, go to Settings → General → Software Update to check.
More Tips from J's Tech Corner
J's Tech Corner is a tip series from NorthWoods Wireless — your local cell phone dealer near me serving Suring WI and Oconto County. If you want help getting set up with iOS 18 or have questions about any feature on your iPhone, stop in and we will walk you through it.
Find more tips on our YouTube channel or visit nthwds.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does changing icon style affect how apps work? No — switching your icons to dark, tinted, or light only changes how they look on your home screen. It does not affect how any app functions.
Can I tint only some apps and not others? The built-in Customize tool applies the same style to all icons at once. For more granular control over individual icons, you can use the Shortcuts app to create custom icon appearances for specific apps — though that is a more involved process.
Will hiding a home screen page delete my apps? No. Hidden pages and their apps are still on your phone. You can find any app using Search (swipe down from the middle of your home screen) or by pulling the app back out of the App Library.
Where is a cell phone store near me open to get help with my iPhone? NorthWoods Wireless is located at 827 E Main St., Suring WI and is open Monday through Friday 9–5 and Saturday 9–12. We are a Cellcom authorized cell phone dealer serving Oconto County and the surrounding Northwoods Wisconsin area.
Questions? Stop in or call (920) 590-1110 — we're happy to help.
