Why are the notification dots on app icons red?

THE notification dots (also called “notification badges”) present in the upper right part of the app icons to indicate the presence and quantity of notifications not displayed they are red for a very simple reason: they attract attention immediately and effectively. Red is one of the colors that most impress the human eye and has a long history of being associated with signals of danger or urgency. This makes red particularly suitable for communicating the presence of a notification, a sort of “alarm” that calls your attention, a bit like what happens with some road signs or the sirens of some emergency vehicles: in all these cases, the red is the dominant color precisely because of its ability to capture our attention in an instant. If you are realizing that you have become a slave to notifications due to the many red dots that populate the icons of your favorite apps, know that you can deactivate them quite simply from the settings of your Android smartphone or your iPhone.

The meaning of the color red in marketing: perceiving notifications as “urgent”

The red, thanks to his wavelengthhas the ability to stand out clearly from other colors. This does not happen by chance: our brain has learned, throughout history, to recognize the red as a sign of potential danger or urgency. It is a color that we see in blood, in fire, in certain poisonous or dangerous animals. It is no coincidence that expressions such as “red flag” or “being in the red” have entered common language to indicate something that is wrong or that requires immediate attention. In the psychology of color, red is associated with both negative emotions, such as danger, and positive ones, such as attractiveness or food (it is no coincidence that it is used extensively in advertisements for many fast food chains and supermarkets), creating a very powerful effect on our perception of the world around us.

A study published in Frontiers delved into the effect of the color red on our attention, demonstrating that red objects tend to capture and hold attention longer than other colors. This is especially true when there is an emotional component involved. Red, therefore, is not just a color that we see, but it is also one of those that causes an immediate psychological and motor response. This means that when we see a red dot on our favorite app, our brain interprets it as something that cannot be ignored, prompting us to check the notification immediately.

The case of is emblematic in this regard Facebook. As the computer scientist explains Tristan Herrisinitially the notification icons present within the social network’s graphic interface were blue, as the latter did pendant with the social colors of the platform. Since the blue notifications did not have the desired effect, obtaining a negligible engagement rate, they changed them to red and the clicks skyrocketed.

How to disable red dots from app icons

If you don’t want to be distracted by notifications and that’s why you want disable the red dots from the icons of some apps (for example those of social networks), follow the instructions below.

If you have Android

  1. Open the app Settings and select the wording Notifications.
  2. Touch the voice Notification badge.
  3. Move up OFF the switch next to the name of each app whose red dot you want to hide.

Keep in mind that the instructions we have just provided may differ slightly depending on the version of Android available on your device.

How to hide notification badges on Android

If you have iPhone

  1. Open the app Settings and touch the voice Notifications.
  2. Identify the app name whose notification badges you want to hide and tap on it.
  3. Move up OFF the switch next to the item Badges and repeat the steps for all other apps you want to act on.

How to Hide Notification Badge on iPhone