The green WhatsApp icon can get tired after years. If you want to change the WhatsApp icon on your phone, the only thing you need to do is take advantage of Android’s customization options, which can be used to change the icons of all or some apps.
WhatsApp currently doesn’t have the option to change its icon, despite the fact that malicious and hoax apps like WhatsApp Gold have been announcing it for years. However, it is possible to change the WhatsApp icon with the help of icon packs, modern launchers, or customization apps.
How to Change WhatsApp Message Icons
To change the WhatsApp icon, you need a new design for the WhatsApp icon. If you’re not an artist and don’t want to create a new design yourself, you can always turn to icon packs. There are many on Google Play, and since WhatsApp is such a popular app, it’s almost guaranteed that the icon pack will include a custom design for WhatsApp.
Not all phones can use the icon pack as-is (from the settings themselves), although this isn’t a big deal. You will always be able to use a launcher that allows you to use icon packs, which is common in popular launchers like Nova Launcher, Action Launcher, Lawnchair Launcher, and others.
The advantage of Nova Launcher is that you don’t have to apply an entire icon pack (which you can also do), but you can make changes selectively, only to certain apps. To change the WhatsApp icon to an icon in an icon pack, you need to long tap on it and press the pencil icon.
This will open the Edit Shortcut screen, where you need to tap on the app icon. By doing so, you will be able to choose among the icon packs that you have installed on your phone. Tap on one of them, and you can choose any icon from that pack, although the icons they provide for WhatsApp are shown at the top for easier access.
Use your own image as a WhatsApp icon.
Do you already have or have you created an image that you want to use as a WhatsApp icon? You can also do that easily with Nova Launcher. First, you have to save the image on your phone because you will have to select it later.
Then, add a shortcut to WhatsApp on the home screen of the phone and give it a long touch. On the Edit Shortcut screen, tap the WhatsApp icon and select Apps. Next, you have to choose between the gallery or the files app, where you have to search for and select the image you want to use as an icon.
The next step is to crop the image to select the part that will become the icon, and if not, there’s not much else to do. If you uncheck the Redesign box, the icon will be used as is, without placing it inside the circle or shape of the icon you are currently using in Nova Launcher.
If your launcher doesn’t allow you to change icons,
What if you don’t use Nova Launcher or another launcher that supports icon packs? Then you will always have to use third-party apps with which you can create personalized access on the home screen with personalized icons.
One of these apps is Pure Icon Changer, which is free although you’ll have to see an occasional ad during its operation. To prevent Android from adding icon overlays to shortcuts, you’ll need to start the process by adding the Pure Icon Changer widget to your home screen with the usual method (usually long-tapping an empty space on the home screen).
This will open Pure Icon Changer, where your first task is to tap on the WhatsApp icon, to edit it. You can take a photo with the camera or tap on the gallery icon to select an icon from the installed icon packs. You can also select the gallery or file management app to open the image you have saved on your phone that you want to use as the WhatsApp icon.
As a final touch, you can select the shape of the icon at the top, and finally, you just have to press the OK button in the top left corner. This will update the widget with a new icon.
