iOS 18 Home Screen Customization: What You Can Change

Updated 7 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

iOS 18 lets you rearrange apps and widgets anywhere on the Home Screen grid, tint icons to match your wallpaper, and switch to Dark or Light icon modes. You can also lock or hide apps, resize widgets, and replace the flashlight and camera shortcuts on the Lock Screen. This guide covers every customization option, how to use them, and what still isn’t possible.

What’s New in iOS 18 Home Screen Customization

Before iOS 18, Apple forced icons into a strict top-to-bottom grid with no empty spaces. iOS 18 finally adds the freedom Android users have had for years: you can place icons and widgets anywhere, including along the bottom edge or in the middle of the screen. The other headline change is icon tinting—a slider that recolors all your app icons and widgets to match a wallpaper color. You can also force all icons into Dark Mode, which turns many stock apps (like Calendar, Mail, and Photos) a true black instead of the usual white background.

How to Enter Jiggle Mode and Start Customizing

Every customization option starts from the same place: press and hold any empty area of the Home Screen until the icons start wiggling. Then tap the Edit button that appears in the top-left corner. You’ll see three options:

Customize – opens the icon controls (tint, dark mode, and size)
Add Widget – opens the widget gallery
Edit Pages – lets you hide or reorder entire pages of apps

While in jiggle mode, you can also drag icons freely. To move an icon to a new spot, just drag it—the other icons no longer snap back to fill the gap. You can even drop an icon directly on top of another to create a folder, or drag it to the far right edge to create a new page.

Icon Tinting, Dark Mode, and Size Options

In the Customize menu, you’ll find three controls that change how icons look:

Light – the default appearance (white backgrounds for stock apps)
Dark – forces icons to use their dark variant; third-party apps that haven’t added a dark icon will get a black background with the app’s existing glyph
Tinted – recolors all icons and widgets to a single color you pick from a palette or an eyedropper that samples your wallpaper

There’s also a Large toggle that removes the app name labels and makes icons slightly bigger. This works best on the iPhone SE and older models with smaller screens; on newer Pro models, the large icons can look cramped. Note that tinting applies to widgets too, which can make text hard to read if you choose a very light color.

Locking and Hiding Apps

iOS 18 adds a privacy feature that lets you lock individual apps behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. To lock an app:

Press and hold the app icon until the context menu appears.
Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID on older models).
Confirm you want to lock it. The next time you open that app, you’ll be prompted to authenticate.

You can also hide an app entirely so it disappears from the Home Screen and App Library. Hidden apps still appear in Settings > Apps, and you can unhide them from the App Library’s Hidden folder (which itself requires Face ID to open). This is different from offloading an app, which deletes the app but keeps its data; hiding keeps the app installed but out of sight.

Widgets: Resizing, Moving, and New Interactive Widgets

Widgets have been around since iOS 14, but iOS 18 gives you more control over their placement and adds interactive elements. You can now place a widget anywhere on the grid, not just in the Today View or pinned to the top. To resize a widget, press and hold it, then tap Edit Widget and choose a size (Small, Medium, or Large). Some third-party widgets also support multiple configurations, like showing different data sets.

iOS 18 also makes widgets interactive—you can tap a button inside a widget (like a play/pause button in the Music widget) without opening the app. This works with Apple’s own widgets and any third-party developers who adopted the new API.

Lock Screen Customization (Still Separate)

While the Home Screen got the big changes, the Lock Screen also received a few tweaks in iOS 18. You can now:

Replace the flashlight and camera shortcuts with any of your favorite apps or controls (like Calculator, Voice Memos, or a Shortcut).
Add new widgets to the Lock Screen’s widget area, including some that show live data like weather or battery levels.
Apply the same tinting effect to Lock Screen widgets, though the wallpaper itself isn’t affected.

To edit the Lock Screen, press and hold on the Lock Screen until the customize button appears, then tap Customize. You’ll see separate sections for the wallpaper and the time/date area.

Common Problems and Misconceptions

One common misconception is that you can change the icon shape or use custom icon packs without a workaround. iOS 18 does not let you change the icon shape (no circles, squares, or squiggles). The only way to get a different icon look is to use the Shortcuts app to create a new shortcut that opens an app, then add that shortcut to your Home Screen with a custom icon. This works, but it’s a workaround—the shortcut opens the app via a script, not directly, and it adds a small delay.

Another issue: tinting can make icons look washed out, especially with light colors. If you choose a color that’s too close to the wallpaper, icons become nearly invisible. Apple’s tinting algorithm applies a uniform color overlay, so there’s no per-icon adjustment. If you don’t like how a particular app looks, you can’t exclude it from tinting—it’s all or nothing.

Finally, some users report that after moving icons to the bottom of the screen, the Dock area still forces icons to snap into place. That’s correct: the Dock is a separate zone and doesn’t allow free placement. You can move icons just above the Dock, but not into it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove the app labels completely?

Yes, but only by enabling the Large icon option in the Customize menu. This removes the text labels and makes icons slightly larger. There’s no way to keep icons at normal size and remove labels individually.

Will tinting affect third-party app icons?

Yes, the tint applies to all icons, including third-party ones. However, apps that don’t provide a monochrome or tintable icon may look odd—the system will apply the color overlay to the existing icon, which can result in a dark blob if the original icon is colorful. Apple encourages developers to support tinting, but not all have.

How do I hide a page of apps?

Press and hold on the Home Screen, tap the page dots at the bottom, then uncheck the pages you want to hide. Hidden pages don’t appear when you swipe, but the apps are still in the App Library. You can unhide them anytime by re-checking the page.

Does the free placement work on iPad?

Yes, iPadOS 18 includes the same free-form Home Screen layout as iOS 18. The iPad also gets the tinting and Dark Mode options, though the larger screen makes free placement more useful.

Can I change the icon size on any iPhone?

The Large option is available on all iPhones that support iOS 18, but it’s most useful on smaller screens. On the iPhone SE, large icons fill the screen nicely; on the Pro Max models, the icons get too big and you’ll see fewer per row.

Will customizing slow down my phone?

No. Home Screen customization is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect performance. However, using the Shortcuts workaround for custom icons can add a slight delay when opening apps, because the shortcut has to run before launching the app.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.