Apple has been allowing apps to use alternate icons for a while and there are a few that have already adapted, allowing us to choose which app icon we want to use from the app’s own settings . However, So far, only the Calendar and Clock apps have dynamic icons, but an exploit has been found in iOS that could change that.
Bryce Bostwick is the one who found this feat which allows developers to create dynamic icons for their applications. Getting into the more technical part, the exploit uses the API that allows apps to use different icons, but ignores the requirement that this must be manually changed by the user.
What does that mean? Let’s start with how iOS actually works. And that’s it, iOS leaves it up to the user to choose an alternative icon for the app, then the system issues a confirmation alert
However, Bryce discovered that by using a private method that calls the API, you can use custom icons without needing to accept the iOS alarm and therefore without the user requesting it. This as well as another trick to make iOS believe that the application is still active even when we close it, You can change the icon whenever you want in the background, allowing it to be dynamic with multiple static icons that change over time.
Of course, this is something that When reviewing apps from the Apple Store, apps will be reviewed and likely rejected who want to use this exploit. We will see if iOS 18 and its new customization allow dynamic icons to enter our lives.
