Utilizing badge count

The iOS badge count displays the number of unread notifications within your application, taking the form of a red circle in the upper-right hand corner of the app icon. In recent years, badging has come to be an effective means for re-engaging app users.

The badge count can be used to re-engage your users who did not notice a push, or who have disabled foreground push notifications. Similarly, it can be used to notify your users about unviewed messages such as in-app updates.

Badge count with Braze

You can specify the desired badge count when you compose a push notification through the Braze dashboard. This can be set to a user attribute with personalized messaging, allowing endlessly customizable logic. If you wish to send a silent push that updates the badge count without disturbing the user, add the “Content-Available” flag to your push and leave its message contents empty.

Removing the badge count

Set the badge count to 0 or “” to remove the badge count from the app’s icon. Braze will also automatically clear the badge when a push notification is received while the app is in the foreground.

Best practices

In order to optimize the re-engagement power of badging, it is crucial that you configure your badge settings in a way that most simplifies the user’s experience.

Keep the badge count low

Research shows that after the badge count increases past double digits, users generally lose interest in the updates and often stop using the app altogether.

There can be exceptions to this rule depending on the nature of your app (for example, email and group messaging apps).

Limit the things a badge count can represent

When badging, you want to make the notifications as clear and direct as possible. By limiting the number of things that a badge notification can represent, you can provide your users with a sense of familiarity with your app’s features and updates.