How to Omit Icons in Moderncv’s Casual Style

The casual style in the moderncv class can display symbols beside contact details such as your phone number and email address. You can hide those symbols without removing the contact information by redefining the corresponding symbol commands as empty.

Minimal working example

The following example removes the email and mobile-phone icons while keeping both details in the header:

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper,sans]{moderncv}

\moderncvstyle{casual}
\moderncvcolor{blue}

% Remove the contact symbols, but keep the contact details.
\renewcommand*{\emailsymbol}{}
\renewcommand*{\mobilephonesymbol}{}

\name{Alex}{Example}
\title{Curriculum Vitae}
\phone[mobile]{+1~555~0100}
\email{alex@example.com}

\begin{document}
\makecvtitle
\end{document}

Compile the file with a LaTeX engine supported by your moderncv installation. The key lines are the two \renewcommand* commands: they replace the email and mobile-phone symbol macros with empty content. Put them after \moderncvstyle{casual} so the style has already been loaded, and before \begin{document}.

Remove other contact symbols

If your header includes other fields, clear their symbols in the same way. Common commands include \addresssymbol, \phonesymbol, \faxsymbol, and \homepagesymbol. For example:

\renewcommand*{\addresssymbol}{}
\renewcommand*{\phonesymbol}{}
\renewcommand*{\faxsymbol}{}
\renewcommand*{\homepagesymbol}{}

Use the command that corresponds to the field you want to change. The mobile and general phone symbols are separate in many setups, so redefine the one matching your \phone field’s optional type. If you use social-media fields, their symbol commands can depend on the service and the moderncv version. Check the class or icon definitions for the command used by your particular field, then redefine that command as empty.

Why this works

moderncv separates the content of a contact field from the symbol printed beside it. Redefining the symbol changes the header’s presentation; it does not erase the value supplied by commands such as \email{...} or \phone[mobile]{...}. This is usually preferable to removing the field, because your contact details remain visible and selectable as text.

If you want to remove a contact detail entirely, remove or comment out its field command instead. For instance, deleting \email{alex@example.com} removes the email address, whereas setting \emailsymbol to empty leaves the address in place.

Common mistakes

• Using a symbol command before it is defined: Place the redefinitions after \moderncvstyle{casual}. If you still get an undefined-command error, check that the symbol name exists in your installed moderncv version.
• Clearing the wrong phone symbol: A mobile number may use \mobilephonesymbol, while a general phone field may use \phonesymbol. Clear the matching one, or both if needed.
• Expecting all icons to disappear from one redefinition: Each contact type can have its own symbol. Redefine the symbols for the fields you actually use.
• Removing the field instead of its symbol: Omitting \email{...} removes the email itself. Keep the field command if you only want a text-only header.

The available symbol names can vary across moderncv releases and icon configurations. If a symbol remains, inspect the package files for the macro used by that field and apply the same empty redefinition to it.