iOS Add to Home Screen: the complete 2026 guide

Everything you need to make your website installable on iPhone and iPad in 2026 — Safari share sheet flow, icon requirements, splash screens, and web push.

Getting a website onto an iPhone home screen is not a technical problem — it's a UX problem. Apple deliberately hides the install flow, so your job is to teach visitors where to tap. This guide covers everything you need to make Add to Home Screen work reliably on iOS in 2026.

The install flow, in order

User opens your site in Safari (not Chrome iOS — that browser can't install PWAs).
User taps the Share button (the square-with-arrow icon in the toolbar).
User scrolls to "Add to Home Screen" in the sheet.
User confirms the name and taps Add.

Your icon appears on the home screen. Tapping it launches your site in a full-screen web view with your theme color.

Required tags

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">
<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes">
<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="black-translucent">
<meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="Your app">

The icon must be 180×180 PNG, non-transparent, no rounded corners (iOS rounds them for you).

Splash screens (optional, worth it)

Without a splash screen, your PWA opens to a white flash. Generate iOS launch images for the current iPhone lineup (there are 8 sizes) and reference them with <link rel="apple-touch-startup-image">.

Web push on iOS 16.4+

Web push works on iOS, but only inside an installed PWA. You cannot ask for notification permission until the user has added your site to their home screen and launched it from there. Request permission on the first in-app interaction, not on load.

What breaks the flow

Being opened inside another app (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn) — the in-app browser hides the Add to Home Screen option. Show a "Open in Safari" banner.
Being visited in Chrome iOS or Firefox iOS — same story.
A missing manifest start_url — the installed icon opens to whatever URL was active during install.

Skip the plumbing

InstantPWA detects iOS Safari automatically and shows a clean, native-looking install guide overlay — including a step-by-step animation of the share sheet — so your visitors never miss the flow.