Favicon sizes explained
Favicons used to mean "a 16×16 ICO file". Today there are at least a dozen recommended sizes spread across browsers, mobile launchers, and PWA installers. This guide walks through every size we generate, what surface uses it, and when you can skip it.
16×16 — the classic browser tab
This is the size every browser shows in a tab on a standard-DPI display. It is also used by the bookmarks bar, the history list, and most search-result rich snippets. At 16×16 you have 256 pixels — barely enough for a single letter or a simple icon. Treat this as the design constraint: if your favicon does not work at 16×16, redesign it.
32×32 — high-DPI tabs and Windows taskbar
Retina displays and Windows high-DPI laptops show tabs at 32×32. The Windows taskbar uses 32×32 (or 24×24 for compact mode) and bookmark exports often pull this size. Browsers will automatically use 32×32 in place of 16×16 when the device pixel ratio warrants it, which is most modern devices.
48×48 — Windows app shortcuts
Embedded inside the multi-resolution favicon.ico. Windows Explorer, the Start menu's app list, and pinned app shortcuts pick this size when the OS asks for a medium icon. It is rarely used by browsers directly, but skipping it makes your site look pixelated when added to Windows.
96×96 — desktop shortcuts
Used for desktop shortcut creation on Windows and the new-tab page on some browsers. ChromeOS and Linux desktop integration also use 96×96 when you "create application shortcut". Optional but cheap to include.
180×180 — Apple Touch Icon
When iOS users add your site to their home screen, Safari downloads apple-touch-icon.png (180×180 since the iPhone 6 Plus). Apple applies the rounded-square mask itself, so supply a flat square. Supply this even if you don't target iPad — Safari falls back to the largest available apple-touch-iconfor every iOS device.
192×192 and 512×512 — Android Chrome & PWA
Declared inside the Web App Manifest. 192×192 is shown on the Android home screen and in the "Add to Home Screen" install prompt. 512×512 is used by Chrome to generate the splash screen for installable PWAs and by the OS when a higher-resolution variant is available. Both should be square PNGs with the artwork inside a 66% safe zone, because Android launchers may apply circular, squircle, or teardrop masks.
150×150 — Windows Start tile
Modern Windows can pin sites to the Start menu as "medium" tiles, which render the 150×150 image specified in browserconfig.xml. Pair the image with a<TileColor> — the tile background fills with that colour and the artwork sits on top.
safari-pinned-tab.svg — pinned Safari tabs
Safari supports a monochrome SVG for pinned tabs. The user's accent colour is applied on top, so the SVG should be a solid black silhouette. This is optional and OhMyIcon does not auto-generate it — pinned tabs are a niche surface.
The Web App Manifest
The manifest is not an image but a JSON document that tells Chrome, Edge, and Samsung Internet how to install your site. The minimum useful fields are name,short_name, icons (the 192/512 PNGs), theme_color,background_color, and display. Without it, the Android install prompt will use a generic icon.
browserconfig.xml — Microsoft Tiles
XML mini-manifest for Microsoft tiles. Maps the 150×150 image and the tile colour. Older than the Web App Manifest and largely superseded, but still respected by Edge and pinned Start tiles.
What you can skip
If your audience is exclusively desktop browsers, you can technically ship just favicon.ico + favicon-32x32.png. If you ship a public-facing product, ship the full set; the marginal cost is a few KB of static assets and the upside is a polished install experience on every platform.