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Create a Custom Icon for Add to Home Screen on iOS

It’s kinda weird that iOS doesn’t support this in a more strait-forward way but it is possible to set the icon for a URL that you’ve saved with Add to Home Screen on iOS (iPhone or iPad). To do it, create a Shortcut using the Shortcut app that’s built into iOS. Here are some step-by-step directions.

Open the Shortcuts app.
Click + to add a new shortcut.
Find Safari in the list of Actions.
Select Open URLs under Safari.
Tap the URL field and enter your URL.
Press the name of the Shortcut to open the pull-down.
Rename the Shortcut.
Use the same pull-down menu to set the icon.
Use the menu again to select Add to Home Screen.

That’s it! You should now have a link to the URL on your home screen with the icon of your choice.

References

Written by Joel Dare on February 16, 2025.

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