Facebook may soon let you turn off 'nagging' notification dots

Customising notifications will give users a 'less attention-demanding version' of the app

The logo of Facebook on Apple iPhone smartphone. Bloomberg

Social media giant, Facebook, is currently developing a feature to provide its consumers with the ability to customise their alerts.

Social media expert Jane Manchun Wong revealed the potential development, Tweeting, "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".

It's thought that giving people control over which of the application’s tabs they receive notifications for will be a relief to many users, as they find the dots on the app’s icon steal their focus from other app updates, no matter how insignificant the notification was.

A Facebook representative told TechCrunch, saying: "It's related to the work we're doing with the well-being team. We're thinking about how people spend their time in the app and making sure that it's time well spent."

“People don’t necessarily want to see a notification on the badge [the in-app dots on tabs] if they’re already getting notifications in the jewel [the red counter on the Facebook app icon on your phone’s home screen]," they added.

It was also reported that Facebook is conducting a worldwide test on iOS and Android platforms to help users manage their time on devices.

Facebook plans to continue providing more ways to personalise their audience’s experiences with regards to notification alerts so they aren’t submerged in noise.

It isn't the only technology company to invest in digital wellness. Both Apple’s Screen Time monitoring and Google’s Digital Wellbeing are evidence of attempts to help make consumers more technologically responsible.