Embodiments described include systems and methods for generating and displaying live tiles for network applications. A small icon or thumbnail-like visual, referred to generally as a “live tile” or “tile”, may be provided via a user interface to a user, with the tile displaying key relevant information from the application or network resource, without the user having to launch the complete application or manually access the resource. The contents of the live tile may be periodically and automatically updated, including performing authentication processes necessary to access the application or resource.