diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ccfc12ccb..1209dc655 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -55,3 +55,5 @@ TODO
 /misc/nsis/include
 /misc/nsis/plugins
 /wheels
+/wheels
+.DS_Store
diff --git a/qutebrowser/app.py b/qutebrowser/app.py
index 66bd485fc..c402c07e3 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/app.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/app.py
@@ -169,14 +169,33 @@ def init(*, args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
 def _init_icon():
     """Initialize the icon of qutebrowser."""
     fallback_icon = QIcon()
-    for size in [16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256, 512]:
-        filename = 'icons/qutebrowser-{size}x{size}.png'.format(size=size)
+
+    def load_default_icons():
+        for size in [16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256, 512]:
+            filename = 'icons/qutebrowser-{size}x{size}.png'.format(size=size)
+            pixmap = QPixmap()
+            pixmap.loadFromData(resources.read_file_binary(filename))
+            if pixmap.isNull():
+                log.init.warning("Failed to load: {}".format(filename))
+            else:
+                fallback_icon.addPixmap(pixmap)
+
+    icon_custom = config.val.app.icon
+    if icon_custom is not None:
         pixmap = QPixmap()
-        pixmap.loadFromData(resources.read_file_binary(filename))
-        if pixmap.isNull():
-            log.init.warning("Failed to load {}".format(filename))
-        else:
-            fallback_icon.addPixmap(pixmap)
+        try:
+            pixmap.loadFromData(resources.read_absolute_file_binary(icon_custom))
+            if pixmap.isNull():
+                log.init.warning("Failed to load custom icon: {}. Falling back to default".format(icon_custom))
+                load_default_icons()
+            else:
+                fallback_icon.addPixmap(pixmap)
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            log.init.warning("Custom icon not found: {}. Falling back to default".format(icon_custom))
+            load_default_icons()
+    else:
+        load_default_icons()
+
     icon = QIcon.fromTheme('qutebrowser', fallback_icon)
     if icon.isNull():
         log.init.warning("Failed to load icon")
diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/webengine/notification.py b/qutebrowser/browser/webengine/notification.py
index 9037ff214..43b81f3fd 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/webengine/notification.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/webengine/notification.py
@@ -970,8 +970,20 @@ class DBusNotificationAdapter(AbstractNotificationAdapter):
             hints["x-kde-origin-name"] = origin_url_str
 
         if icon.isNull():
-            filename = 'icons/qutebrowser-64x64.png'
-            icon = QImage.fromData(resources.read_file_binary(filename))
+            icon_custom = config.val.app.icon
+            icon_default = 'icons/qutebrowser-64x64.png'
+
+            def get_icon_data() -> bytes:
+                if icon_custom is None:
+                    return resources.read_file_binary(icon_default)
+
+                try:
+                    return resources.read_absolute_file_binary(icon_custom)
+                except FileNotFoundError:
+                    log.init.warning("Custom icon not found: {}. Falling back to default".format(icon_custom))
+                    return resources.read_file_binary(icon_default)
+
+            icon = QImage.fromData(get_icon_data())
 
         key = self._quirks.icon_key or "image-data"
         data = self._convert_image(icon)
diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
index b221a70dc..9c9896593 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
@@ -4111,3 +4111,15 @@ logging.level.console:
   desc: >-
     Level for console (stdout/stderr) logs.
     Ignored if the `--loglevel` or `--debug` CLI flags are used.
+
+## app
+
+app.icon:
+  type:
+    name: String
+    none_ok: true
+  default: null
+  restart: true
+  desc: >-
+    The absolute path to a custom icon for the qutebrowser app.
+    Note that this only sets the icon for the app while it is running.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/utils/resources.py b/qutebrowser/utils/resources.py
index 35fd62f75..ef9c22510 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/utils/resources.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/utils/resources.py
@@ -121,3 +121,18 @@ def read_file_binary(filename: str) -> bytes:
     path = _path(filename)
     with _keyerror_workaround():
         return path.read_bytes()
+
+
+def read_absolute_file_binary(filepath: str) -> bytes:
+    """Get the contents of an binary file at an absolute path. 
+    This file may exist outside of qutebrowser-owned directories.
+
+    Args:
+        filepath: The absolute filepath to open as string.
+
+    Return:
+        The file contents as a bytes object.
+    """
+    path = pathlib.Path(filepath)
+    with _keyerror_workaround():
+        return path.read_bytes()