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iEmpty is a tool that allows you to customize the homescreen of your iOS device, without the need to jailbreak it.
Empty TEXT
You can get a special « empty text », when you want to set nothing as a label where it is usually required.
For example: iOS folder names, social media pseudo or status text, bookmark labels, ...
Empty ICONS
You can add some special « empty icons » on your home screen, to create cool layouts and organize your apps on it.
Indeed iOS doesn't allows you to put the application icons where you want on your homescreen grid.
Empty icons reproduce your homescreen background (they'll look invisible once added on it at the right position), so you can visually put your app icons where you want.
Empty WIDGETS
You can download some « empty widgets background pictures », to be able then to create cool iOS widgets on your homescreen.
By using these background pictures as the background of an iOS widget from a compatible widgets application, your widgets will look as if they have a « transparent » background.
To enjoy iEmpty, you must meet these requirements while using it:
Only iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad) can be used with iEmpty.
It must run iOS 6 and later for empty icons, or iOS 14 and later for empty widgets.
All devices and iOS versions might not be fully supported, because I don't have enough informations about them.
If you see devices you own that are not supported, you can contact me to help me to add them to the list of supported devices.
Compatibility notes:
fully supported
partially supported
not yet supported
not applicable
If you are browsing iEmpty using Safari's “Private Mode”, cookies will be reseted and limited to the current private browsing session.
This will lead to problems to find back your screenshot and icons, like this one.
So please ALWAYS use iEmpty using Safari in “Normal Mode”, by leaving its “private mode”.
If you are browsing iEmpty using Safari on your iOS device as expected, everything should work well...
However, if you are browsing the « Desktop version » of the iEmpty's website, you will NOT be able to generate your blank icons or widgets.
⚠️ This « Desktop version » is the default mode when you are using an iPad running « iPad OS » (iOS 13+ on a compatible iPad).
iOS 12 and below
On Safari, tap and hold on the “Refresh” button at the end of the URL bar and select “Request Mobile Site”.
iOS 13 and above
On Safari, on the “Aa” icon at the beginning of the URL bar and select “Request Mobile Site”.
You can also force mobile version by default (Settings > Safari > Settings for websites > Request Desktop Site > All websites > OFF)
If you are browsing iEmpty using some content blockers, the website may not work properly...
Some users were not able to upload their homescreen for example because they had a content blocker that blocked the download of the Javascript jQuery library that is used by iEmpty.
So if you have such content blockers installed and have problems, please disable them while browsing iEmpty!
Many people uploads every day their icons, screenshots and other data on our server.
We automatically delete uploaded screenshots and generated data (icons & widget background pictures) after 7 days, to save disk space on the server.
After this delay, you'll need to do the full procedure again if you want to add some new empty icons on your homescreen or to keep the existing ones up-to-date if you accidentally tap on them...
Indeed, opening an empty icon bookmark when it has been deleted on te server could unfortunately makes this empty icons becoming visible...
To keep your generated empty icons, you need to become a premium member.
This way, they won't be automatically deleted after 7 days...
Before all, go to this page.
1. Select the empty text
Click the « Select » button to select the special empty text.
2. Copy the empty text
On iOS, you should have the contextual « Copy » option displayed. Click it to copy the invisible text to your clipboard.
On other systems (Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, ...), use the appropriate « Copy » command.
3. Paste the empty text
You can now « Paste » this text anywhere you want!
You can use the copied empty text on iOS, but also on many other systems to put empty labels anywhere it is not allowed!
A few examples:
Test it anywhere you like to have « no label », and share the tip around you on social networks!
Whatever you want to generate empty icons or empty widget backgrounds, you'll first need to upload a screenshot picture of your homescreen that will be used to generate your data.
0. Check the prerequisites
1. Go to « edition mode »
On your home screen, press on any icon and hold it until all the icons on the screen start to « jiggle ».
2. Clean the dock (optional)
If you want to put empty icons on the dock slots too, move all the icons outside it, so the dock will be empty.
3. Go to the last page
Slide the home screen pages to display the last one. It will be empty, without any icons or widgets on it.
4. Take the screenshot
Press simultenaously the « Power » + « Home » (or « Volume Up ») buttons, depending on your device.
This will save the screenshot into your « Photos » app.
5. Upload this screenshot
Upload THIS screenshot picture to iEmpty, without any modification or resizing on it, from this page.
iEmpty will process your screenshot to « extract » all the possible icons and widgets slots from it, and generate the corresponding pictures that reproduce exactly your homescreen background (so icons and widgets using these pictures will look « invisible / transparent » once added on it).
When trying to upload your screenshot image, you get an error saying that its resolution is incorrect.
Check that you followed this procedure correctly.
This is often because you uploaded the original picture you installed as your homescreen wallpaper, and NOT the screenshot of it once installed as described in the procedure.
When your screenshot image is uploading, the request is interrupted and you get an error.
Don't do anything during file upload!
Any action from you can stop the upload request and make it fail.
When you come back to the page where you choose one of your empty icon to add, you don't find back the homescreen screenshot you previously uploaded.
Note:
This can lead to problems like your existing empty icons becoming visible again... (learn more).
1. This is normal!
This could happen if you intentionnally deleted your screenshot and icons using the icon on it.
> Follow this procedure again to generate new icons.
2. Check your cookies
This could also happen if you use Safari in « private mode », or if you block/disabled/deleted your cookies manually.
> Follow this procedure again to generate new icons.
3. Check your icons age
When you generate your empty icons using iEmpty, they will be stored on the server for 7 days.
After this delay, they will be automatically deleted (see why!).
> Follow this procedure again to generate new icons.
OR
> Become a premium user to remove this limitation and keep your icons « forever »!
0. Check the prerequisites
1. Screenshot your home screen
Take and upload a screenshot of the last page of your home screen (the one without any icon on it).
> How to take and upload the screenshot?
2. Choose an installation method
You can choose between 2 methods:
> Compare both installation methods
3. Select some icon slots
Select several icon slots (the positions where you want to put the empty spaces) on the home screen grid, from this page.
4a. Bookmark method
Tap the « Add X icons » button.
A « special page » corresponding to the selected icon position has been opened.
You can quickly navigate between the selected icons using the navigation arrows...
Add THIS page on your homescreen (WITHOUT modifying the default empty text), as a Safari bookmark.
This will add on your device's home screen the generated icon corresponding to the selected slot, without any text.
VARIANT: use iCustom
Alternatively, you can use iCustom in order to make your empty icon launch an iOS application of your choice, instead of opening the iEmpty special page corresponding to your icon.
> How to use iEmpty with iCustom?
4b. Profile method
Tap the « Install X icons » button.
A configuration profile file containing all the selected icons is automatically generated.
Install it on your device.
> How to install a configuration profile?
This will add on your device's home screen all the selected icons, without any text.
5. Position the icon correctly
Once added on your homescreen, the icons may not be correctly positionned.
Move the icons to their expected positions (the selected slots on step 3) on the home screen grid.
As they reproduce exactly your home screen background, they will look « invisible »!
Bookmark & Profile installation methods are very different, and each one has its own pros and cons.
It's up to you to choose the one that best fits your needs!
Bookmark method
Adds the empty icons one by one, using the Safari's Add to home screen feature.
PROS
CONS
Profile method
Adds the empty icons all at once, using the iOS Configuration Profile feature.
PROS
CONS
If you have an iPad running iPadOS (iOs 13+ on a compatible iPad), you can choose between different kind of layouts for icons on your home screen.
See: Settings app > Display & Brightness > HOME SCREEN LAYOUT
1. Tap Safari's sharing button
This is the « 
» icon on the Safari's toolbar.
2. Choose « Add to home screen » action
If you don't have this option, see here.
3. Tap « Add »
If the button is disabled, see here.
The page's bookmark is added to your home screen with the provided icon, as a shortcut to it.
Once a profile has been generated and downloaded o your device, you will be prompted by iOS to inform you that it is ready to install.
Open the Settings app, and tap the Profile Downloaded menu at the top of it.
Then follow instructions to install it on your device.
Note: You'll need to confirm the installation several times and enter your password: don't worry, all these informations remains or course private on your iPhone!
1. Go to « edition mode »
On your home screen, press on any icon and choose and hold it until all the icons on the screen start to « jiggle ».
2a. Move one icon
Like for any other iOS application, touch and hold any app on the screen, tap « Edit Home Screen », then drag the icon to the desired position on your home screen.
2b. Move several icons
You can also use this poorly known iOS feature to move several icons at once!
1. Bookmark method
Touch and hold any app on the screen, then tap « Delete App ».
You can also tap « Edit Home Screen », then touch the little cross on the icon upper-left corner to remove the icon.
2. Profile method
Do the same thing than for the « Bookmark method » above if you want to remove only one icon (or a subset of icons added using a configuration profile).
To remove ALL icons that were added by a specific configutaion profile AT ONCE, remove the whole configuration profile file from Settings > General > Profiles or Profiles & Device Management
Works only using the Bookmark method (without iCustom).
Each empty icon added on the home screen is also a link to the page used to add it.
So you just need to tap on an existing empty icon on your home screen to come back to its special page and add it again as a bookmark on your home screen to create a new empty icon for the same slot/position!
Works only using the Bookmark method (without iCustom).
If you already added empty icons and changed your home screen background, your existing empty icons will not match your new home screen anymore (they will become visible).
1. Upload the new screenshot
Follow the upload procedure as usual: take a screenshot of your new home screen background (without icons) and upload it on iEmpty.
2. Update the existing empty icons
You just need to tap on each 'old' empty icon already on your home screen to update them... Super easy!
It will display the « special page » corresponding to the old icon position, but with the new generated icon. Wait for the complete page loading and quit Safari : this should be enough to update your old icon!
Works only using the Bookmark method.
My other website iCustom can use your generated empty icon to make it launch an iOS application: so cool!
1. Tap the « Choose application with iCustom » menu on the « special page » of the selected icon slot (step 5a of the procedure), instead of adding id directly to your home screen.
2. You will be redirected to the iCustom's configuration page, with your invisible icon data already filled
3. Choose an application to launch using your icon and follow the instructions to add it on your homescreen
Tap on the invisible icon will launch an iOS application of your choice, but in case you change the wallpaper set to your homescreen, you'll need to remove your previous empty icon and add it again from scratch (no automatic icon update).
After you add the empty icon as a bookmark on your home screen, you see that the icon is not really « invisible », because it seems a little brighter or darker than the home screen background.
1. Check that you followed this procedure correctly.
This can occur when you uploaded the original picture you installed as your homescreen wallpaper, and NOT the screenshot of it once installed as described in the procedure.
2. Check your view mode.
Indeed this can occur if you upload your homescreen screenshot and generate empty icons while being in « Zoomed » view, and then later add these icons while being in « Standard » view. Or vice versa!
Check your display mode in Settings > Display & Brightness > Display Zoom > Standard / Zoomed
3. Reboot & update icons.
Sometimes, some users had this kind of problems without any « good reasons »... They fixed it by rebooting their device. Sometimes they also needed to update their icons (tap on them) or install them again from scratch (following the procedure again).
After you add empty icons on your home screen, you see that they are not really « invisible », because they are not exactly aligned with your home screen background.
1. Check that you disabled the « parallax » effect.
Set « Reduce motion » to 'ON' (from Settings > General > Accessibility)
When reduce motion in 'OFF', your icons will move slightly on your home screen when you move your device, so they will not be always well aligned with it.
2. Check that your iOS version is supported
Icons positions on the home screen grid may often change after a new iOS release.
This is mainly the case with major iOS versions, but this can also occur with minor iOS versions...
> Check here that your device / iOS version is supported
If it is not yet supported (or if you think that icons positions changed), please follow these instructions to contribute and help us to update iEmpty for everybody!
3. That's embarrassing...
Some users reported to have this kind of misaligned icons hapenning AFTER they successfully add their empty icons.
Their icons were correctly aligned first, and then one day without any reason (and without any iOS update) they are not well aligned anymore.
It's like if iOS made the homescreen background « move / shift », so the icons doesn't match it anymore, even if their positions on the homescreen grid remains the same.
You can try to :
Can only occurs using the Bookmark method.
When you accidentaly (or not) tap on an already added empty icon, it brings you back to the « special page » you previously used to add it.
After that, your invisible icon updates itself and becomes the iEmpty logo like that : 
Cause :
Consequence :
As your icon does not exists anymore or can't be found, we falls back to the iEmpty's website logo as the favicon of the page.
The default iOS behaviour is to also update all the corresponding icons bookmarked on your homescreen, so they become visible again...
Can only occurs using the Bookmark method.
When you visit the « special page » corresponding to an empty icon to add, you get a message saying: « Unable to identify your icon! » or « The icon you asked doesn't exists anymore! ».
Note:
This can lead to this problem where your existing empty icons become visible again...
1. This is normal!
This problem could happen if you intentionnally deleted your screenshot and icons using the icon on it.
> Follow this procedure again to generate new icons, then quick update them.
2. Check Safari's browsing mode
This could also happen if you use Safari in « private mode », or if you block/disabled/deleted your cookies manually.
Keep in mind that even if you added the icon using Safari's classic mode, the icon will update itself to the iEmpty logo if you tap on it when using Safari's private mode.
> Turn OFF Safari's private mode, then quick update your icons.
3. Check your cookies
This could also happen if you block/disabled/deleted your cookies (intentionnally or not).
> Check that you accept cookies, follow this procedure again to generate new icons, then quick update your icons
4. Check your icons age
When you generate your empty icons using iEmpty, they will be stored on the server for 7 days.
After this delay, they will be automatically deleted (see why!).
> Follow this procedure again to generate new icons.
OR
> Become a premium user to remove this limitation and keep your icons « forever »!
IN ALL CASES:
Don't forget this tip to quickly update your icons!
Can only occurs using the Bookmark method.
From the Safari mobile browser, you don't find where is the « add to home screen » option.
This could be hidden in the « more... » option.
» sharing button of SafariCan only occurs using the Bookmark method.
When trying to bookmark the page, the 'Add' button is disabled.
Cancel the operation and try again.
Can only occurs using the Bookmark method.
When trying to bookmark the page, the icon to add is not the expected one (thumbnail of the page instead of your custom empty icon).
Cancel the operation and try again.
Please ensure to wait that the page is completely loaded before trying to add it to your home screen as a Safari bookmark.
Can only occurs since the iOS 16.x version.
When you add an empty icon on the screen, it is not completely invisible, because you can see a gray shadow effect under the icon.
This is a new shadow effect introduces by iOS 16 under icon label on a light background picture, to enhance readability...
I personnally think it's ugly and that
The text under an empty icon IS empty, but iOS applies the shadow, even if there is no text...
Unfortunately this is NOT possible to change this in iOS settings
Workaround : use a darker background picture to avoid this effect.
0. Check the prerequisites
1. Screenshot your home screen
Take a screenshot of the last page of your home screen (the one without any icon on it).
2. Upload this screenshot
Upload THIS screenshot picture to iEmpty, from this page.
iEmpty will process your screenshot to « extract » all the possible widget slots from it, and generate the corresponding pictures that reproduce exactly your homescreen background (so the widget will look « transparent » once added on it).
3. Select a widget slot
Select a widget size (small, medium or large) and then a widget slot (the position where you want to put your transparent widget) on the home screen grid, from this page.
4. Download the widget background picture
A « special page » corresponding to the selected widget position has been opened.
Long tap the widget picture to save it on your photo's camera roll.
5. Create your widget
Create your widget as you want, using a compatible widget's application
> What are the compatible widget's apps?
Use the empty widget picture as your widget background image.
You can then add some other informations on top of this background, like the date, time, battery percentage, and many other things depending on what your widget's app offers you.
Once you're OK, add this widget on your homescreen.
> How to add a widget on the homescreen?
6. Position the widget correctly
Once added on your homescreen, the widget may not be correctly positionned.
Move the widget to its expected position (the selected slots on step 3) on the home screen grid.
As its background reproduce exactly your home screen background, it will look « transparent »!
Since iOS 14, there are many applications that propose you to create your own custom widgets.
They usually offer you different features, like displaying some system data on the widget, using different customizable fonts and colors.
Some apps are very easy to use and offer 'ready to go' preconfigured widgets. Some other are more complex to use but offer advanced widget creation features, like adding several layers on your widget to make it as you want.
In all cases, ONLY apps that propose you to choose a background picture for the widget can be compatible with iEmpty to create widgets with a transparent background.
Unfortunately, they are not all compatible, because they also have to process the provided widget background picture 'as is', without applying any modification of effect on it..
Compatible widgets apps
All these apps have tested to work well with empty backgrounds on december 2020.
They handle the empty widget background image produced by iEmpty « as is », producing perfect results once added on your homescreen: the widgets seems to have a transparent background!.
Probably the most famous one! Quite easy to use.
It offers quite few widgets where you can set a custom background picture, but new ones are regularly added...
Don't hesitate to ask the developer to allow to set a custom background image for all the proposed widgets!
Quite complex to use but offers many customization possibilities.
Once you get how it works, the possibilities are almost endless!
I also has a strong users community behind it on reddit, and you can use many « ready to use » widgets created by the user's community.
NOT compatible widgets apps
For all these ones, they can work only if they handle the provided widget background (the one generated by iEmpty) correctly, without modifying it and positionning it correctly (as the generated picture is the exact widget size).
I advice you to contact their developers to ask them to fix that and offer more widgets with custom backgrounds!
Very easy to use. Offers to set a custom background picture.
Unfortunately it alterates the provided picture by adding it some effects, so it will not seems to be 'transparent' on the home screen.
Quite easy to use and many customization options. Good balance between widgy and color widgets. Seemed promising!
You can set a custom background picture, that is not modified with effects.
Unfortunately once added on the home screen, there is a big white line visible at the bottom of the widget (background is not well aligned).
1. Go to « edition mode »
On your home screen, long press on any icon or widget (or directly an empty area on the homescreen background), until all the items on the screen start to « jiggle ».
You can also touch and hold on item and choose directly « Edit Home Screen » from the contextual menu.
2a. Add a widget
Tap the '+' button in the upper-right corner of the home screen.
Then select a widget, its size, and add it.
Depending on the widget's creation app you use, the process to select the widget you created and display it on the homescreen may change...
Contact the widget's app creator if you have problems or questions about that!
2b. Move a widget
Touch and hold the widget to move and then drag it to the desired position on your home screen.
2c. Remove a widget
Touch and hold the widget to remove and choose « Remove Widget »
You can also tap the minus sign at the upper-left corner of the widget to remove it.
If you still have questions or problems, then you can send me a message!
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