Badges are the small red circles or numbers that appear on your app icons to show you have unread messages or updates
A badge is a small label — usually a red circle with a white number — that sits on top of your app icon on your phone's home screen or in your app drawer. It tells you at a glance that something inside the app needs your attention: an unread email, a new message, a pending notification, or an update waiting to install.
The badge appears without you having to open the app. On iPhones, badges are typically red circles in the top-right corner of the icon. On Android phones, they look similar but the style varies slightly depending on your phone's manufacturer and settings. Some badges show a number (like "5" to mean five unread messages), while others just show a dot to indicate something is there without counting it.
Badges exist because your phone's lock screen and home screen have limited space. Instead of listing every notification, your phone uses these small visual markers to let you know which apps have something waiting. Without badges, you would have to open each app one by one to find out what changed.
Key Takeaways
- Badges are small numbered circles or dots on app icons that show you have unread content or pending updates inside that app.
- A red badge with a number means that many unread items are waiting — the number tells you how many.
- A badge with just a dot (no number) means something is waiting but the app is not counting the items.
- You can turn badges off for individual apps in your phone's notification settings if you find them distracting.
- Badges reset to zero once you open the app and view the content, though some apps require you to mark items as read.
How badges count what is waiting for you
Most badges display a number that represents unread items. If your email app shows a badge with "12", that means 12 unread emails are sitting in your inbox. If your messaging app shows "3", you have three unread text messages or chat threads. The number updates in real time — as soon as a new message arrives, the badge increments by one.
Not every app uses numbered badges. Some apps, like social media platforms, use a simple dot or circle without a number. This tells you something has changed or something is waiting, but the app does not count the individual items. A dot badge is common when the count would be too high to display usefully or when the app is designed to show only that something needs attention, not how much.
Some apps clear their badge automatically once you open them and view the content. Others require you to manually mark items as read. For example, Gmail may clear the badge once you open the app, but your email client might keep the badge until you actually read each message. Check your app's settings if you are unsure how it handles badge clearing.
Where badges appear on your device
On iPhones, badges sit in the top-right corner of the app icon, whether the app is on your home screen, in a folder, or in the App Library. You will also see badges on the Settings app if you have system updates waiting, and on the Mail app icon in the dock at the bottom of the screen. Badges are always visible unless you have turned them off for that specific app.
On Android phones, badge placement depends on your launcher (the software that manages your home screen). Most Android launchers show badges in the top-right corner of icons, similar to iPhones. Some Android phones also display badges as small dots or numbers on the app icon itself, and some launchers let you customize the badge style or position.
Badges also appear in your notification panel or notification shade — the dropdown menu you see when you swipe down from the top of your screen. Here, badges may appear next to app names to show how many unread notifications you have from that app, giving you another way to see what needs attention.
Why some apps use badges and others do not
App developers decide whether to use badges based on what their app does. Apps that handle communication — email, messaging, chat — almost always use badges because unread messages are important and time-sensitive. You want to know immediately that someone has written to you.
Apps that deliver news, social media updates, or entertainment content often use badges too, but sometimes as a dot rather than a number. A news app might show a dot to tell you new articles are available, but it does not count them because the count would be meaningless — there could be hundreds of new articles since you last opened the app.
Some apps deliberately do not use badges because the developer believes they are distracting or because the app's purpose does not require them. A fitness tracking app, for example, might not use badges at all because there is no "unread" content — you check it when you want to see your progress.
How to turn badges on or off
On iPhones, go to Settings, then Notifications, then select the app you want to change. Look for the toggle labeled "Badge App Icon" and turn it on or off. When the toggle is green, badges are on. When it is gray, badges are off for that app. You can do this for every app individually, so you can have badges for email but not for social media, for example.
On Android, the process varies by phone and launcher. On most Android phones, go to Settings, then Apps or Application Manager, select the app, then look for Notifications. You may see an option for "Badge" or "Show notification badges". Toggle it on or off. Some Android launchers have their own badge settings in the launcher's own settings menu, separate from the system settings.
If you want to turn off all badges at once, you can usually do this in your phone's main notification settings. On iPhones, go to Settings > Notifications and look for an option to disable badges globally, though this is less common. On Android, the option is usually in Settings > Apps > Notifications or in your launcher's settings.
What happens when you clear a badge
When you open an app with a badge, the badge usually disappears once you have viewed the content. For email, this might mean opening the inbox and seeing the unread messages. For messaging, it might mean opening the chat thread. The app marks the items as read automatically, and the badge resets to zero.
Some apps require an extra step. You might need to actually read each message or swipe to mark items as read before the badge clears. If you open an email app and see the inbox but do not read the emails, the badge might stay until you tap into each message. Check the app's settings or help section if you are unsure how it handles badge clearing.
If a badge does not clear after you have viewed the content, the app may have a bug or may be counting something you did not expect. Try closing the app completely and reopening it. If the badge still does not clear, you can manually clear it by going to your notification settings and turning badges off and back on for that app.
Badges versus notifications: what is the difference
A notification is a message that pops up on your screen or appears in your notification panel to tell you something has happened. A badge is a persistent label on an app icon that shows you have unread content. Notifications are active — they interrupt you or appear in a list. Badges are passive — they sit on your icon and wait for you to notice them.
You can have notifications turned on but badges turned off, or vice versa. For example, you might want your messaging app to send you a notification (a popup or sound) when a new message arrives, but you might not want a badge cluttering your home screen. Or you might want the badge to remind you that messages are waiting, but you do not want notifications interrupting you while you are using your phone.
Some people turn off notifications to reduce interruptions but keep badges on so they can check apps on their own schedule. Others do the opposite — they want to be alerted immediately but do not want badges reminding them of old unread content. Your phone lets you customize both independently for each app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my badge show a number that does not match how many unread items I have?
Some apps count only certain types of items. A messaging app might count unread conversations but not unread messages within a conversation. Or an app might count notifications that arrived while you were not using your phone, but not items you have already seen. Open the app and check what the badge is actually counting — it might be correct even if it does not match your expectation.
Can I have badges for some apps but not others?
Yes. On both iPhones and Android phones, you control badges individually for each app in your notification settings. You can turn badges on for email and messaging but off for social media, for example. This lets you focus on the apps that matter most to you.
What if a badge is stuck and will not go away?
Try opening the app and viewing all the content, then closing the app completely and reopening it. If the badge still does not clear, go to your notification settings, turn badges off for that app, wait a few seconds, and turn them back on. If it is still stuck, the app may have a bug — try restarting your phone or uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Do badges use battery or data?
Badges themselves use almost no battery or data. The app running in the background to count unread items uses a small amount of battery, but this is the same whether the badge is on or off. Turning off badges will not noticeably improve your battery life.
Why do some apps show a dot instead of a number?
Apps use dots when they cannot count items meaningfully or when the developer chose not to count them. A news app might show a dot to mean "new content is available" without counting articles. A dot takes up the same space as a number but tells you something is waiting without the clutter of a large number.