Alerts and notifications can appear on your iPhone’s home screen via sound, banner, or pop-up, with messages and reminders from texts, emails, phone messages, and a host of other information from your resident apps. Notifications are one thing. Notification badges are something completely different. You can get notifications with or without the Red Badge of Shame plastered in the top right corner of your app icon.
What are notification badges? It’s the red dot, usually with a number in it, that tells you how many notifications you’ve received in a particular app. Badges can appear on your home screen app icons, in the app library, or on both or neither. Badges are useful in some circumstances, but they can also be annoying, instill fear and clutter your pristine device screen. We’ll show you how to manage notification badges in iOS 16 while still keeping track of the important events in your life with ease.
Show or hide notification badges on your home screen
In most iOS versions, including the latest iOS 16, you manage notifications through Settings, where you can toggle them on or off, specifying what they should look like and when and where they can appear. You can choose the appearance, location and duration of banners, manage audio alerts, and choose how and when to view notification badges.
Step 1: Open the Settings app.
Step 2: Tap notifications.
Step 3: Check out the list of apps below Notification style.
Step 4: Each app notification is handled individually, so check out the settings by tapping each app one by one.
Step 5: Within each app, you will see a list of options. To get rid of the badge, turn off the badges option off.
Show or hide notification badges in app library
Notification counters are not displayed in the app library by default. Many iPhone users prefer to minimize the number of apps on the home screen over using the app library, so if you prefer numbered alert badges while using the library, you should enable this option. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Step 2: Tap Home screen.
Step 3: In the Notification Badges section, turn on the switch for: Show in app library.
Step 4: If you prefer to see the badge in your app library, just toggle the switch back on for the full effect.
Disable App Notification Badges in Focus Mode
The iPhone’s Focus mode blocks incoming notifications, but the red counter badges may still appear on your home screen app icons. You can set your Focus mode to hide them when they are active. Here’s how.
Step 1: Launch the Settings app and select Focus.
Step 2: Tap Do not disturb.
Step 3: Tap Options.
Step 4: Turn on the Hide notification badges switch.
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