An app icon badge shows you the number of unread alerts and it’s omnipresent on the app icon. It’s a simple way to tell, at a glance, if you have unread messages in the Gmail or Messages app. Come Android O, apps that choose to support them will now have app icon badges.

Should app icon badges be on or off?

When would you need to disable notification badges? Certain notifications do not lend themselves to the use of app icon badges, so you may want to disable the feature at these times. The feature makes little sense for notifications relating to time-sensitive alerts, like those of clocks and other alarms, for example.

What are app icon badges Android?

An icon badge displays as a small circle or a number on the corner of an app’s icon. If an app has one or more notifications, it will have a badge. Some apps will combine multiple notifications into one and may only show the number 1. Other times, the badge may go away if you clear your notifications.