Renaming a file and changing its icon is child’s play on Windows and other similar operating systems for personal computers. However, have you ever thought about renaming and changing the icons of installed apps on your Android? Can be fun, right?
Well, one day I thought about it and then started researching how it could be done. As of now, there doesn’t seem to be an app on the Play Store that can rename an installed app, even for a rooted device. But then I came across a tool for Windows called APK Editor on the XDA Forums.
Using APK Editor once can easily rename an Android app and change its default icon even for non-rooted Android phones. So let’s see how it’s done.
Rename and change Android app icon
Step 1: First we need to have the APK package of the application that you want to rename and change the icon. If you don’t have the APK with you, but the app is already installed on your phone, you can easily compile its APK using the Astro file manager. We discussed how you can generate APK files of installed apps while talking about transferring installed apps from one device to another via Bluetooth.
Step 2: Download and extract APK Edit v0.4 to a folder in your computer. Since APK Edit v0.4 needs Java to work, please install it if you haven’t already.
Step 3: Now that you have both – the APK file and the APK editor – start editing. Launch the Edit.exe APK that you extracted in the previous step and load the APK file you want to edit.
Step 4: Now, the tool will read the file and display the icon and application name in the General tab. You can directly edit the name text field and click on the icon image to search for a new icon. Please make sure the icon file is in PNG format and has a perfect square size.
Step 5: After finishing editing, click Apply button to save the changes.
While the app gives you the option to push the app directly to the device using a data cable, I recommend transferring the modified APK file to the internal hard drive using Wi-Fi or a data cable, then install that file on the device.
Even when installing the file, you will see changes in the file name and application icon. Once the app is installed, you’ll see the app with an icon and a user-defined name.
Conclusion
You can use this trick to hide your secure apps on Android. But keep in mind that this tip is for personal use only. Do not try to change the name and icon of the application and publish it as your own work.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
