The red dot on the home screen of your Apple Watch is a notification indicator. While this feature can be quite useful, it can also be a source of distraction. Particularly when you want some quiet time or do important work, it diverts your attention from it.
If that’s the case, you want to get rid of it. So, use this guide to know what the red dot on Apple Watches means and how to hide it. Let’s read the article!
Table of Contents
- What Does Red Dot on Apple Watch Mean?
- How to Hide the Red Dot on Apple Watch
- How to Hide the Red Dot on Apple Watch Using iPhone
- How to Turn Off the Red Dot on Apple Watch for Specific Apps
- Frequently Asked Questions
- When Should You Hide the Red Dot on Your Apple Watch?
- What does Notification Grouping on Apple Watch mean?
- Can I customize notifications on Apple Watch?
- How to turn off notifications on your Apple Watch?
- What notifications trigger the red dot on Apple Watch?
- Why won’t the red dot on my Apple Watch go away?
What Does Red Dot on Apple Watch Mean?
The red dot on Apple Watch means you have new or unread notifications. It appears when the Notification Indicator setting is active in the Apple Watch app. So, the red dot on your Apple Watch could come from anything: a text message, a missed call, etc.
The red dot on Apple Watch is a notification indicator that displays new notifications when the iPhone is locked or sleeping. Users can view the full content of unread notifications by tapping on the red dot or swiping down from the Watch’s screen.
You can think of the red dot as the badge notifications on the iPhone. This is because it also shows a brief snippet of notifications when you raise your wrist and vibrates when any notification arrives.
How to Hide the Red Dot on Apple Watch
To hide the Red Dot on Apple Watch, you should navigate to its Settings menu. Next, go to the Notification Indicator option, and tap it to disable the Apple Watch notifications. Now, your Apple Watch screen won’t show a red dot for any notifications.
However, turning off the red dot does not mean blocking the Apple Watch from receiving notifications. Your notifications will continue to appear, and they’ll be visible in your Notification Center at all times.
The following steps will guide you on hiding the red dot on your Apple Watch face:
- First, raise your wrist to wake the Apple Watch and press the digital crown button to access the app screen.
- Tap on the gear icon on the app screen to navigate to Settings.
- Scroll a little bit and tap Notifications.
- Scroll a bit further down, and you will find the Notifications Indicator.
- Toggle off the switch next to the Notifications Indicator.
How to Hide the Red Dot on Apple Watch Using iPhone
To hide the red dot on Apple Watch using your iPhone, you should go through your iPhone Settings app. Next, you will see a Notification Indicator option in the list. Disable it to hide the red dot on your Apple Watch.
You can use this method to easily remove the notifications indicator from your iPhone Watch app. However, your Apple Watch must be paired with your iPhone.
Here are the steps to remove the red dot on App Watch using iPhone:
- Launch the Watch app on the iPhone connected to your Apple Watch.
- Then, select Notifications.
- The red dot indicator is turned off and no longer visible by toggling off the switch next to the Notifications Indicator.
Note: The Apple Watch will vibrate or sound when notifications arrive (depending on whether it is in silent mode), but you won’t see the red dot on your Apple Watch screen.
How to Turn Off the Red Dot on Apple Watch for Specific Apps
You can turn off the red dot on Apple Watch for specific apps through the iPhone’s Notification settings. To do this, navigate to the Notification settings, view all the apps that show notifications, and disable notifications for the desired apps. Now, you won’t receive notifications from the selected apps, and the red dot will not appear.
The red dot on the Apple Watch control center can be annoying when receiving many notifications. Luckily, the notification settings can be configured for certain apps, so you don’t have to reply to every notification and avoid the red dot.
Follow these steps to disable the red dot on Apple Watch for specific apps:
- On your iPhone, open the Watch app.
- Tap the Notifications button.
- From this screen, scroll down and separately choose the apps you don’t wish to see the notifications for.
- Then, choose the app and turn Notifications Off.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Should You Hide the Red Dot on Your Apple Watch?
You should hide the red dot on your Apple Watch if it distracts you during important tasks like meetings or driving. This will allow you to focus on the task at hand, avoid accidents or critical mistakes, and complete it without any unnecessary distractions.
Moreover, a red dot on the Apple Watch is sometimes confused with another status icon in the same location. This status icon also appears as the red dot on Apple Watch. You can avoid this confusion by turning off the red dot for the app’s notification.
What does Notification Grouping on Apple Watch mean?
Notification Grouping on Apple Watch is a feature in WatchOS 7. It is an efficient way to organize alerts in the Notification Center and lock screen. You can group alerts by app or nature and have options to choose how alerts are stacked or disable them for a traditional look.
Can I customize notifications on Apple Watch?
You can customize notifications on Apple Watch through your iPhone. Here are the steps to do it:
1. On your iPhone, open the Watch app.
2. Tap Notifications from the menu.
3. Choose the apps for which you want to customize notifications.
4. Here, you can toggle third-party app notifications on/off.
How to turn off notifications on your Apple Watch?
To turn off notifications on your Apple Watch, follow these steps:
1. Lift your wrist to wake the Apple Watch, then press the Crown button.
2. On the app screen, tap the Gear icon to access the settings menu.
3. Tap Notifications after scrolling a bit.
4. Toggle off the switch next to the Notifications Indicator.
What notifications trigger the red dot on Apple Watch?
Your Apple Watch triggers a notification as a red dot when you have unread activity from apps. It can vary from calls to social media messages from third-party apps. For example, someone likes your post on Facebook, sends you an email, or asks to follow you on Instagram or Twitter.
Why won’t the red dot on my Apple Watch go away?
You will see a red dot on your Apple Watch that will not disappear if you have unread notifications. If you check them and tap Clear All or the x icon, you will no longer see the red dot on your Apple Watch.
