For years, iPhone users seeking a sleek, uncluttered Home Screen aesthetic had to rely on cumbersome workarounds—such as creating custom Shortcut bookmarks with invisible blank character names or applying custom third-party icon packs. While these methods achieved a cleaner interface, they broke notification badges, introduced launch delays, and required tedious manual configuration for every individual application.
With the release of iOS 18, Apple introduced native Home Screen customisation controls that include a dedicated toggle to hide text labels beneath all application icons and widgets simultaneously. By switching your Home Screen icons to the “Large” appearance setting, iOS removes all app titles and widget labels, leaving behind a modern, minimalist grid of pure iconography. This guide explains how to hide app names on your iPhone Home Screen and customise your icon layout.
How the Large Icon Setting Hides App Names in iOS 18
The ability to remove app labels is directly connected to Apple’s redesigned Home Screen customisation sheet. When you configure your icons, Apple provides two physical sizing choices:
- Small (Standard): Retains traditional icon dimensions and displays standard text labels (such as “Safari”, “Mail”, or “Settings”) directly beneath each icon and widget.
- Large: Slightly enlarges the icon boundaries to fill the vertical padding space previously occupied by the text, automatically removing all textual labels across every Home Screen page.
| Setting Option | App Label Visibility | Icon Size | Notification Badges | Impact on Widgets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (Default) | Visible below all apps | Standard 60×60 pt | Retained on top-right | Widget names displayed below frame |
| Large (Minimalist) | Completely hidden system-wide | Enlarged proportionally | Retained on top-right | Widget names completely removed |
Importantly, hiding app labels applies globally across all your Home Screen pages. However, your App Library continues to show category names and searchable alphabetical text lists, ensuring you can still locate lesser-used apps with ease.
Step-by-Step: Removing App Names from Your iPhone Home Screen
Hiding app labels takes only a few seconds and does not require third-party tools or configuration profiles:
- Navigate to any Home Screen page on your iPhone running iOS 18 or later.
- Touch and hold (long-press) any empty area of the screen wallpaper until all the app icons begin to jiggle (entering “jiggle mode”).
- In the top-left corner of the display, tap the Edit button.
- From the dropdown menu that appears, tap Customise.
- A customisation sheet will slide up from the bottom of your display.
- At the top of this customisation sheet, locate the two size options: Small and Large.
- Tap the Large button (the larger app icon symbol).
- Observe your screen in real time: all text labels beneath apps, folders, and widgets vanish instantly.
- Tap anywhere on the empty wallpaper area or swipe down on the customisation sheet to lock in your changes and exit editing mode.
Combining Large Icons with Dark Mode and Colour Tinting
The customisation panel allows you to alter icon aesthetics further to match your wallpaper:
- Dark Icons: Automatically shifts default system icons to dark backgrounds, pairing exceptionally well with dark wallpapers and OLED displays.
- Tinted Icons: Applies a uniform monochromatic colour tint across all app icons on your device. You can use the colour picker eyedropper to sample an exact accent colour from your wallpaper.
- Automatic: Switches icon appearances between Light and Dark mode in sync with your system-wide day and night schedules.
How to Restore App Names and Labels
If you later decide that identifying certain third-party apps without labels is difficult, returning to the standard display mode is just as straightforward:
- Long-press any empty space on your Home Screen to enter jiggle mode.
- Tap Edit in the top-left corner and choose Customise.
- On the bottom sheet, tap the Small icon button.
- Tap the background wallpaper to exit. All app titles and widget labels immediately reappear.
Utilising Apple’s native Large icon setting provides a distraction-free, minimalist Home Screen layout that highlights your wallpaper and app artwork without sacrificing system stability or notifications.