Allow PWAs to pre-declare a list of approved app icons for silent switching

[yashrajbharti]

Background

Currently, PWAs can silently update icons if the new image differs less than 10% and there’s been no change in 24 hours.
This helps prevent unnecessary update prompts and improves UX. While this is great, it still doesn't solve the problem of silent app icon updates for larger changes.

Proposal

Allow a PWA to pre-declare a list of approved icon variants (e.g. seasonal, event-based, or theme-based icons) that the app can switch between silently, once the user has accepted the list of icons.

Benefits

• Enables dynamic UX changes (e.g. Duolingo like apps can change icons based on performance, etc).
• Avoids excessive prompts or permissions.
• Aligns with the current silent icon update model while extending flexibility.

Example manifest extension

{
  "name": "Example App",
  ...
  "icon_variants": [                       
    {
      "name": "holiday",
      "src": "/icons/icon-holiday-192x192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    },
    {
      "name": "event_special",
      "src": "/icons/icon-event-192x192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    }
  ],
}

Examples app icons

Questions

• Any security implications?
• How could this integrate with the existing "silent update" logic?