Facebook is testing the ability to turn off the crimson in-app notification dots that seem to pop up every time you check Facebook on your phone. According to app researcher and reverse-engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, Facebook is currently testing the ability to turn on and off the red notification dots, known as badges, that you get for individual tabs of the company’s mobile app. That way, if you don’t really care much for Watch or groups, you don’t have to stare down yet another bright red badge number demanding your attention.
Facebook is testing the ability to toggle Notification Dots of the specific tab in the app
This should address the long annoyance of tabs showing notification dots that don't spark joy for the user pic.twitter.com/vtBLkbjKtE
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) June 1, 2019
Unfortunately, not everyone can get rid of notification dots right away. Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that they only started testing the feature on a subset of iOS and Android users. In order to find out if you’re a part of the test, go to the “Settings and Privacy” section of your Facebook mobile app. Tap on “Settings” and then scroll down to “Notifications”. You should see a heading that says “Notification Dots” at the very bottom, and that will lead you to a toggle menu where you can choose which type of badges you no longer want to see.
Facebooks decision to test making the feature optional is a sign that the company wants to help users tailor their experience; rather than imposing one design change on us all.
