You Can Change the X Icon Back to the Twitter Bird on Your Phone

Illustration: bluecat_stock (Shutterstock)

Many Twitter users are unhappy to have suddenly become X users (or, in many cases, ex-users). While no one can do anything about Elon’s Musk’s odd decision to rename one of the most recognized brands on earth, we can change the icon and name back to the originals on our smartphones.

How to change X’s name and icon on an iPhone

1. Download a Twitter icon to your phone and save it as a photo. There are many options. I chose this one—the ancient “T” Twitter icon.
2. Navigate to your phone’s “Shortcuts” app. It’s pre-installed in newer phones, but if you are unable to locate it using iOS’s search feature, you can download Shortcuts on the App Store. Shortcuts is only available on iOS 12.0 or above.
3. From the main Shortcuts screen, tap “All Shortcuts.”
4. Hit the “+” sign at the top right corner of the screen to create a new shortcut.
   
5. Tap “Open App”
6. The top search bar should read “Open App.” Choose “App” then search or scroll to “X.”
7. Tap the “share” button on the bottom bar.
8. Tap “Add to Home Screen.”
9. Change the “home screen name and icon” to “Twitter” (or “Musk’s Folly,” if you prefer.)
10. Click the icon to the left of your renamed Twitter. Click “Choose Photo.”
11. Put in your downloaded Twitter icon photo. Or use this illustration of a dumpster fire.
12. Tap “Add” at the top right.
13. Find the old X icon on your screen, tap “remove from home screen,” and the operation is complete.

If you’d like, you can use your Twitter shortcut to make the X/Twitter icon automatically redirect to Threads, Retro Bowl, or any app that isn’t X. Are you more of a visual learner? Here’s a step-by-step video guide to changing X to Twitter on your iPhone.

How to change X’s name and icon on Android

Because Android runs on phones from a wide variety of manufacturers, there are many methods to changing your app icons depending on the make and model of your particular smartphone. If you’re looking for a quick and dirty method no matter your phone type, however, Shortcut Maker is the way to go:

1. Download a Twitter icon to your phone and save it as a photo. Again, there are many options, but it might be best to find one without a border, based on the way modern Android apps look.
2. Download Shortcut Maker from the Play Store.
3. Open Shortcut Maker, then choose “Apps” from the options menu.
4. Scroll down and tap “X.”
5. Choose “Tap to Edit Label,” then change the label name to “Twitter.”
6. Tap “Icon,” then choose “Gallery Image” to pick your Twitter icon from your photos. Adjust the crop size of the photo, then hit the checkmark to continue.
7. Hit the checkmark again, then choose “Create Shortcut.” Here, you can drag your new shortcut to the home screen, or add it via the system option.

The downside to Shortcut Maker is it adds an arrow to your app icon to indicate that it isn’t an app itself, just an alias. If you want to change X’s app icon itself, you’ll need to follow instructions for your specific Android phone. Android Police has a great general guide for app customization here.

Even if you’ve successfully undone the “X” changeover—at least on your phone’s screen—everything inside The App Formerly Known as Twitter will still look however Twitter wants it to look. Right now, it’s an app called “X,” but everything else remains Twitter-branded. In other words, it’s a real mess.

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