Badges on iPhone are the small red circles with a number on the corner of an app icon. The number tells you how many unread items the app has, like new texts, emails, or missed calls. You can turn badges on or off for each app in Settings › Notifications.
What badges mean
A badge is one of the ways an app gets your attention, along with sounds and banners. For example, a badge of 3 on the Messages icon means three unread messages. The badge goes away once you open the unread items. Apple lists badges as one of the notification options in its Change notification settings guide.
How to turn off badges for an app
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap the app you want to change.
- Turn off Badges.
The app still sends other notifications, like banners and sounds, unless you turn those off too. To turn them all off for that app, turn off Allow Notifications on the same screen.
How to turn badges back on
Follow the same steps and turn Badges on. If you don’t see a Badges switch, Allow Notifications is off for that app. Turn it on first.
Why a badge won’t go away
- Mail: The badge counts unread emails in all of your inboxes, including ones you don’t check often. Open each inbox and mark the messages as read.
- Settings: A badge on Settings usually means a software update is waiting or your Apple Account needs attention. Open Settings to see what it is.
- Phone: Missed calls and new voicemails both count. Open the Recents and Voicemail tabs to clear them.
Want fewer notifications overall? See where to find Do Not Disturb on iPhone.
Related: where Notification Center is on iPhone and how to turn on flash notifications.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.