How to disguise an app on Android: change its icon and name
Three ways to change an app’s icon and name on Android, which disguise is most convincing, and the places like Settings and Google Play that no disguise reaches.
· 8 min read
Want an app to look like something else on your home screen? On Android you can change an app's icon and name in three ways: with the app's own disguise setting, through your launcher, or with a shortcut. Here's how each one works, which is the most convincing, and what no disguise can hide.
Three ways to disguise an app
| Method | What changes | Where the real app still shows |
|---|---|---|
| The app's own disguise | Its icon and name, wherever your phone lists apps | Settings, Google Play, often notifications |
| Your launcher's edit option | The icon and name in that launcher only | Everywhere else, and in any other launcher |
| A shortcut with a new icon | A home screen shortcut | Your app list, unless you hide it there |
Method 1: use the app's own disguise setting
The most convincing disguise comes from the app itself, because it changes the app's entry in your phone's app list, not just one icon. Apps do this by declaring extra icons and names in advance and switching between them. A few examples:
- Proton Mail: Settings → App customizations → App icon, then turn on the discreet icon. On Android, the name under the icon changes too.
- Signal: Settings → Appearance → App icon, then pick one of the alternatives.
- Motorola's Secure folder: Disguised icons gives it another icon and name (how it works).
- Vault apps: many can turn into a calculator, clock or other everyday app. See how calculator vault apps work.
Proton points out that its notifications still show the real name, so check an app's notifications as well as its icon. When the icon switches, some launchers remove it from your home screen, so you may need to add the new one again from your app list.
Method 2: change the icon and name in your launcher
A launcher is the app that draws your home screen and app list. Many third-party launchers, such as Nova Launcher, let you long-press an app, tap Edit, and type a new name or pick a new icon from an icon pack, another app or a photo.
Most phones' own launchers can change icons through themes or icon packs, but few let you rename an app. And a launcher edit only lives in that launcher: switch launchers, or let someone open the app list in Settings, and the real name is back.
Method 3: make a shortcut with a new icon and name
Shortcut maker apps create a home screen shortcut that opens any app, with whatever icon and name you choose. It's quick and works with any app, but it's the weakest disguise:
- The original stays in your app list. If your launcher can hide apps, hide the original there.
- Badges. Some launchers add a small badge to the shortcut showing which app made it.
- Search. Searching your app list for the real name still finds the real app.
Hiding an app completely is a different job. Our guides to hiding apps on vivo and on OnePlus show how two built-in Hide apps features work.
What a disguise can't hide
A disguised app is still an installed app, and Android lists installed apps in places no disguise reaches:
- Settings → Apps lists every app under the name its developer gave it.
- Google Play's list of installed apps uses each app's store name.
- Notifications often show the real name and icon.
- Storage settings show how much space each app uses, and a "calculator" holding gigabytes stands out.
So a disguise works against a glance at your home screen, not against someone who goes looking. And a disguise isn't a lock: an app that looks like a clock still opens for anyone who taps it, unless it has a lock of its own. For apps that need a lock, see how to lock your gallery and other apps.
Disguising Hidey
Hidey is a vault app with disguises built in. Open Settings → Security → Disguise and pick one:
- Calculator (free). Hidey's icon and name become Calculator, and it opens as a working calculator. To get into your vault, type your PIN and press =. Wrong PINs just look like sums, and fingerprint doesn't open it, so only your PIN can. It needs a PIN rather than a password, and Hidey has you try the calculator unlock once before the disguise turns on. Here's how to use a calculator vault, step by step.
- Clock, Weather or Notes (Pro). These change Hidey's icon and name only, and Hidey opens with its usual lock screen.
While disguised, Hidey leaves the share menu, so its name doesn't appear when you share a photo, and the recent apps screen shows the disguise's name. We're plain about the limits, too: Android's Settings app and Google Play still list it as Hidey. If Pro ends, a Clock, Weather or Notes disguise turns back into Hidey's own icon, while the calculator stays, since it's free.
Underneath the disguise, your photos are encrypted on your phone and the vault has its own PIN, which is what keeps them private if someone does find it.