For many iPhone users, seeing a home screen cluttered with bright red notification badges—each containing a number indicating how many unread emails, unread messages, or pending app updates you have—can be a significant source of digital stress. If you prefer a clean, minimalist home screen without constant visual reminders demanding your attention, iOS allows you to easily turn off these red notification badges on a per-app basis.
What Are Badge App Icons?
In Apple’s terminology, the red circles with numbers inside them are officially called “Badge App Icons.” Their sole purpose is to provide an at-a-glance summary of pending items inside an app without you having to open it. While useful for critical communication apps like Phone or Messages, they are often used by games and shopping apps to artificially drive engagement, practically begging you to open the app just to clear the number.
How to Disable Badges for Specific Apps
You cannot turn off all badges across the entire operating system with a single master switch. You must disable them individually for the specific apps that are annoying you.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down slightly and tap on Notifications.
- You will see a long, alphabetical list of every app installed on your iPhone. Scroll through the list and tap on the specific app that is generating the unwanted red badges (for example, the “Mail” app).
- Look for the section labelled Alerts.
- Beneath the alert styles, you will see a toggle switch labelled Badges.
- Tap the Badges toggle switch so it turns from green (on) to grey (off).
The Result
The moment you flip the switch, the red numbered badge will instantly vanish from that app’s icon on your home screen. The app will continue to function normally. If you have “Banners” or “Lock Screen” alerts enabled for that app, you will still receive those active notifications when a new message arrives. You simply will not have a permanent, lingering red circle demanding your attention on the home screen afterward.