iOS App Title in Settings

Customizing Your iOS App's Title in the Settings App

Learn how to control the display name of your iOS application within the device's Settings app, ensuring a consistent and professional user experience.

When users install your iOS application, it appears in various places on their device, including the home screen, Spotlight search, and the Settings app. While the home screen icon and name are often the primary focus, the name displayed in the Settings app is equally important for user recognition and management. This article will guide you through the process of setting and customizing your app's title specifically for the iOS Settings app, ensuring it aligns with your branding and user expectations.

Understanding the Display Name in iOS

iOS applications have several names associated with them, each serving a slightly different purpose:

• Bundle Name (CFBundleName): This is the primary name for your app bundle. It's often used internally by the system and can be a fallback for other display names if they are not explicitly set.
• Display Name (CFBundleDisplayName): This is the name displayed to the user on the home screen, in Spotlight search results, and crucially, in the Settings app. This is the key you'll typically modify to control the user-facing title.
• Product Name: This is usually derived from your Xcode project's target name and is used during the build process. It often defaults to $(PRODUCT_NAME) in Info.plist.

By default, if CFBundleDisplayName is not explicitly set, iOS will often fall back to CFBundleName or the Product Name. However, for precise control, it's best practice to define CFBundleDisplayName.

flowchart TD
    A[App Build Process] --> B{Info.plist}
    B --> C{"CFBundleDisplayName" set?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Use CFBundleDisplayName]
    C -- No --> E{"CFBundleName" set?}
    E -- Yes --> F[Use CFBundleName]
    E -- No --> G[Use Product Name]
    D --> H[App Title in Settings/Home Screen]
    F --> H
    G --> H

Decision flow for iOS app display name

Modifying the App Title via Info.plist

The Info.plist file is the central repository for configuration information about your iOS application. To change the app's title in the Settings app, you need to modify the CFBundleDisplayName key within this file. This can be done directly in Xcode's project settings or by editing the Info.plist file as source code.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    ...
    <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>
    <string>My Awesome App</string>
    <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
    <string>$(PRODUCT_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER)</string>
    <key>CFBundleName</key>
    <string>$(PRODUCT_NAME)</string>
    ...
</dict>
</plist>

Example Info.plist snippet with CFBundleDisplayName

Steps to Change Your App's Settings Title

Follow these steps to ensure your app's title appears correctly in the iOS Settings app.

1. Open Your Xcode Project

Launch Xcode and open your iOS application project.

2. Navigate to Project Settings

In the Project Navigator (left sidebar), select your project, then select your target (usually under 'Targets').

3. Access the Info Tab

Click on the 'Info' tab at the top of the project settings pane.

4. Locate 'Bundle display name'

Scroll down or search for the 'Bundle display name' key. If it doesn't exist, you can add it by clicking the '+' button next to any existing key and typing Bundle display name.

5. Set the Desired Title

Enter the exact title you want your app to display in the Settings app (and on the home screen) into the 'Value' field for 'Bundle display name'. For example, My App Name.

6. Clean and Rebuild Your Project

To ensure the changes are applied, clean your build folder (Product > Clean Build Folder) and then rebuild and run your application on a device or simulator.

Localizing Your App Title

For applications supporting multiple languages, you'll want to localize your app's display name. This ensures that users see the app title in their preferred language within the Settings app and on the home screen.

To localize CFBundleDisplayName, you typically create an InfoPlist.strings file for each language. Xcode handles this process quite elegantly.

/* Localized versions of Info.plist keys */

"CFBundleDisplayName" = "My Awesome App";

Example InfoPlist.strings (English)

/* Localized versions of Info.plist keys */

"CFBundleDisplayName" = "Mi Aplicación Genial";

Example InfoPlist.strings (Spanish)