Make it yours
The app badge
The number on the Twos icon, and what it counts.
Choosing what it counts is free for everyone.
What it can count
Unfinished to-dos, or overdue to-dos only.
Which to choose
Overdue only, almost always.
Counting every unfinished to-do produces a number that is permanently large and therefore meaningless. A badge of 47 tells you nothing and, worse, trains you to ignore the badge.
Counting only overdue things produces a number that is usually zero and occasionally two, which is a signal you will actually respond to.
Turning it off
A badge is optional. If a number on an icon makes you anxious, remove it. Nothing about carry-over or reminders depends on it.
Going further
It is not a notification count. The badge counts things, not unread items, so it does not clear by opening the app. It clears by finishing what it counts.
Carry-over interacts with it. With carry-over on, unfinished to-dos accumulate on today rather than staying in the past, which is another reason the unfinished count runs high. See carry-over.
Settings that change this
- Custom badge, in Settings Your features, chooses what the badge counts.
Tips
- Overdue only, or off. Those are the two settings worth having.
- If the number never reaches zero, it has stopped being information.