{"id":8238,"date":"2022-01-03T15:03:22","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T20:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tcn.tidbits.com\/?p=8955"},"modified":"2022-01-05T07:22:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T12:22:58","slug":"badges-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-red-badges-on-our-iphone-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macworks.com\/blog\/badges-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-red-badges-on-our-iphone-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Badges? We Don\u2019t Need No Stinkin\u2019 Red Badges (On Our iPhone Apps)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quick quiz: what does a red number badge on the Phone icon on your iPhone mean? You\u2019d be right if you said that it indicates the number of missed calls or voicemail messages. The Mail and Messages apps also use a red badge to display the number of unread messages; Settings uses one to indicate that software updates are available; and Reminders shows a badge for the number of tasks due today. Third-party apps also use red badges to indicate that some number of somethings await you inside. You\u2019ll also see a red badge on any folder that contains apps that are themselves showing badges\u2014the folder\u2019s badge sums the total of the badges inside.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re willing to bet that some of you stay on top of your badges at all times, checking the missed calls, reading the messages, and completing the to-dos. Others don\u2019t find the badges helpful and either ignore them or find them somewhat annoying. Who needs to know they have 315 unread email messages?<\/p>\n

Here then is our advice on how to ensure that the red badges either provide useful information or get out of your way.<\/p>\n

Clear Badges Organically<\/h3>\n

Being told that you have 17 voicemail messages that you haven\u2019t listened to or 32 unread texts in Messages isn\u2019t helpful\u2014at best, you have to remember that you had only 16 voicemail messages yesterday. There\u2019s no option for dealing with them all at once, but it\u2019s worth taking a few minutes while standing in line or otherwise killing time to clear the badges manually.<\/p>\n

Precisely how you do this depends on the app. In the Phone app, all you have to do to clear the missed calls in the badge is tap Recents at the bottom\u2014that\u2019s enough to mark them as viewed. For voicemails, however, you\u2019ll either have to listen to at least some of the message or delete it by swiping all the way to the left. (Remember that you can drag the playback slider to fast-forward if you want to mark it as listened without actually doing so.)<\/p>\n

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In Messages and Mail, the trick is to read or delete each message. That mostly means just loading it quickly and then moving on, although you can also swipe left to delete unread conversations or email threads. In Messages, you\u2019ll have to scroll through all your conversations, looking for those that have a blue unread dot next to them. In Mail, you can tap the Filter button at the bottom to show only unread messages (tap Filtered By and select Unread if it\u2019s set some other way).<\/p>\n

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Regardless, the goal is to mark everything as dealt with so the badge goes away, not for the sake of making it go away, but so when it returns with the next unread message or new voicemail, it\u2019s giving you actionable information.<\/p>\n

Disable Unnecessary Badges<\/h3>\n

However, some badge numbers are never useful. Unless you receive very little email, being told you have more than a handful of unread emails will likely just cause stress, not encourage you to deal with those messages. That\u2019s especially true if a session in Mail merely knocks the number down to a still-high value. (\u201cOh good, now I only have 289 unread messages.\u201d) Or you may just dislike the badges in general\u2014that\u2019s fine too.<\/p>\n

Luckily, you can turn the badges off entirely. Go to Settings > Notifications > AppName<\/i> and disable Badges. You\u2019ll never see that red badge of nagging again.<\/p>\n

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Clear Stuck Badges<\/h3>\n

Sometimes an app will end up with a red badge even when you\u2019re certain that you\u2019ve done whatever is necessary to clear it. Here are a few things to try:<\/p>\n