Now you can make the Facebook app (slightly) less irritating – here's how

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Finally, you can banish notification dots

Facebook iOS app
(Image credit: Facebook)

Facebook is introducing a new option that will let you customize the shortcut bar, and eliminate the red notification dots that pop up within the app. This will be welcome news if you find they appear seemingly at random, and frequently unhelpfully. Did you want to know about new additions to the Marketplace? No, we thought not.

The Shortcut Bar Settings feature is rolling out now for iOS users. It lets you take control not only of notification dots, but also the icons that appear in the shortcut bar at the bottom of the screen in the app.

This is great news if you only use a limited range of Facebook's features. After all, if you never use the Marketplace, there's little point in cluttering up the screen with a permanent shortcut to it.

Speaking to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said: "We are rolling out navigation bar controls to make it easier for people to connect with the things they like and control the notifications they get within the Facebook app".

To access the newly introduced options, you just need to tap and hold any of the buttons in the shortcut bar. A pop-up menu will appear from which you can opt to disable notification dots, hide the button you tapped, or access a more advanced Shortcut Bat settings screen.

What about Android?

For now, the new customization options are only available in the iOS version of the Facebook app. While it is quite common for Facebook to bring new features to the iOS and Android version of the app at different times, in the end both tend to end up with the same options. That said, there can sometimes be something of a delay between the arrival of a particular feature on one platform and its appearance on the other.

It would be surprising if such sought-after features were exclusive to iOS. Indeed, Facebook has confirmed to TechCrunch that Android users can expect to see notification dot and shortcut bar customisation option "in the next few weeks". Watch this space for more details.

Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Freelance writer

Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

You can find her on Twitter and Mastodon.