Since Apple hasn’t introduced a universal toggle to turn off notification badges during Focus Mode, you’ll have to rely on workarounds. You can use Focus filters with iMessage, hide the Dock, disable badge notifications per app, and set Mail to a rarely used inbox. They’re all in your System Settings. Let’s take a closer look at how to configure them properly.
Set Up a Focus Filter for iMessage
Time needed: 5 minutes
Focus Filters let you control which conversations show alerts. Adding iMessage with an empty contact list blocks badge icons without disabling message delivery. It’s the closest workaround to a native toggle for iMessage badges during Focus Mode.
- Open System Settings > Focus.
- Choose your active Focus mode (e.g., Do Not Disturb, Gaming, Sleep, and Work).
- Under Focus Filters, click Add Filter.
- Select Messages and enable Filter by People List.
- Leave the list empty.
2. Hide the Dock Temporarily
Troubleshooting is a pain. And if you just want to get into the zone fast, I suggest hiding the Dock altogether. It’s a simple yet effective workaround that keeps notification counts out of sight. Ironically, fiddling with settings for too long can be its own distraction, and this option gets you back to work faster.
- Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
- Toggle on Automatically hide and show the Dock.
3. Disable Badges for Specific Apps
You can turn off badges per app without affecting system-wide notifications. This is useful for apps like Slack or Mail where badge overload is common. It’s a targeted way to clean up your Dock without disrupting functionality.
- Open System Settings > Notifications.
- Select the app.
- Turn off Badge application icon.
- Optionally, you could set Alert Style to None.
4. Use a Low-Activity Mail Inbox
Apple Mail supports Focus Filters. If you choose a rarely used inbox, no unread count will display even if emails land in other accounts. This gives you badge control without needing to disable Mail entirely.
- Go to System Settings > Focus.
- Select a Focus mode.
- Click Add Filter.
- Choose Mail.
- Pick a low-traffic inbox. You can create a dummy account for this step if all your accounts receive a lot of messages daily.
Why Apple Doesn’t Have a Badge Toggle Yet
macOS doesn’t offer a system-wide toggle to disable notification badges during Focus Mode, and that’s mostly by design. Apple gives developers the ability to trigger badges through the UNUserNotificationCenter framework. However, it doesn’t enforce behavior based on Focus status. This means badges are treated separately from banners and alerts, making them harder to control globally.
Unlike Do Not Disturb or Lock Screen notifications, badges are persistent UI elements. Turning them off dynamically would require deeper integration with each app’s settings, which macOS doesn’t currently support. Until Apple adds native controls, you’ll have to manage them manually.
Managing distractions on macOS takes a few manual steps, but these workarounds can help you stay in control until Apple introduces better badge controls. And if you’re using—or planning to use—the Vision Pro, Apple might be thinking ahead. A recently spotted patent suggests a dedicated Focus Mode could be coming to the Vision Pro too.