Beeps, banners, and pop-ups! Your iPhone home screen has multiple ways to alert you about new messages, emails, and other app-related updates. While notifications serve their purpose, the accompanying "Red Dot Alerts" on your app icons are another story. Here's how you can have more control over these Notification Badges in iOS 16.

Notification Badges are those red dots usually accompanied by a number representing your unread notifications for specific apps. They can appear on your home screen, within your App Library, or not appear. Although they can be helpful, they can also be irritating and anxiety-inducing. Here's how you can better manage them.

In iOS 16, and most prior versions, the "Settings" app is your go-to place for managing how notifications appear. You can select their style, timing, and location.

Step 1: Access the "Settings" application on your device.

Step 2: Navigate to the "Notifications" section.

Step 3: You'll see a list of apps under "Notification Style." Browse through it.

Step 4: Click on each app individually to manage its notification settings.

Step 5: Inside each app's options, locate the "Badges" toggle and turn it off to remove the red dot.

By default, the App Library doesn't display notification numbers. If you prefer a cleaner home screen and use the App Library, you can enable badges there as well.

Step 1: Open the "Settings" app.

Step 2: Select the "Home Screen" option.

Step 3: Locate the "Notification Badges" segment and toggle on the "Show in App Library" switch.

Step 4: If you later decide you like seeing badges in the App Library, simply toggle the switch back on.

Focus mode on your iPhone can silence incoming alerts but still show notification badges. To hide them, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open "Settings" and go to the "Focus" section.

Step 2: Select the "Do Not Disturb" option.

Step 3: Click on "Options."

Step 4: Locate and enable the "Hide Notification Badges" switch.

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