One of my favorite things new in iOS 18 is the customizable home screen. I like the subtlety of the new colored icon option, but there’s a pop to the dark mode icons that’s unmatched. Especially since I upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, seeing the dark mode icons on the home screen was pure joy.

But this joy does not apply to all applications. Lots of developers offer their own version of dark mode icons, but there are quite a few apps, even from big developers, that simply don’t come with their own dark mode icons. These include banking apps or even two-factor apps like Google Authenticator.

Clearly, this problem is not limited to me, because Redditor Straight_Random_2211 shared a shortcut-based process to create dark mode icons for any app.

Here’s how it works. Use a simple, free website tool to remove an icon’s background, then change it to the exact dark background shade that Apple uses in its own apps. Next, use the Shortcuts app to add a shortcut to the home screen for the app that features the new icon. Most of the time, this creates a good enough dark mode icon replacement that you don’t need to search online for a custom dark mode icon.

To get started, first download and install Get the app icon shortcut. Open the Shortcuts app and tap Get the app icon shortcut. Enter the name of the app for which you want to download the app icon. The shortcut will now search the App Store. Choose the correct application from the search results. Within seconds, the Shortcuts app will save the icon of the original app to the Photos app.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Now open this Reddit link which features the background image in dark mode (as a backup, here’s a Imgur link). Then long press on the image and tap Save to Photos to save it in the Photos app.

Now, we can start the process of creating the new app icon. Open Remove.bgthe Change Background tool and tap blue Upload the image button. Here, choose the app icon you just downloaded. Then, in the Wallpaper section, tap Select File icon. Here, choose the dark background image from the Photos app.

You will instantly see your new photo in dark mode. Long press the image, then choose Save to Photos menu option.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Now it’s back to the Shortcuts app again to create the home screen shortcut for the new dark icon. Here, tap Addition icon at the top to create a new shortcut and choose Open the application as an action. Touch the blue”App” text box in the action and choose the app that corresponds to the dark mode icon we created above.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Now, tap on the down arrow button at the top and choose Add to home screen option. Here, first change the name of the app and tap on the switch image option. Then tap Choose Photo button and select the brand new dark mode icon you just created. Touch Add button to complete the process.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

And just like that, you have a new dark mode icon to go with everything else!

Repeat this process to convert more apps to the dark side. Don’t forget to create new shortcuts for each new app. Also note that your mileage may vary depending on the dark mode icon, as not every icon will look great with just a simple dark mode background flip.

For example, the Amazon icon with a dark background doesn’t really work because the famous Amazon AZ arrow is also black. In this case, you can search online for a dark icon and use it instead. With a quick Google search, here’s one the best option I found. The shortcut would be the same – just use the downloaded icon instead of creating a dark mode icon yourself.