What is The Red Dot?
Notification badges are colored to stand out against any background, creating a visual tension that you feel compelled to clear by opening the app.
Where it comes from
Apple & Facebook Growth Teams (2009)
How it hooks you
Exploits alarm response: red is an evolutionary warning color, and the small spike of tension it creates is only relieved by clearing the badge.
What the research shows
Dscout researchers counted an average of 2,617 phone touches per user per day.
How to resist it
Turn off badge notifications for all non-essential apps.