When a red circle with a number appears on your Teams taskbar icon, it means you have unread or unseen activity in your chats and teams. This is called a badge count, and it can help you stay on top of your most important conversations and activities.

This article explains where the badge numbers on the taskbar and app icons come from, how they're calculated, and how you can clear or manage them. 

What does the badge count represent? 

The badge count number displayed on the Teams taskbar icon is a sum of counts from the Chat  Teams Chat Tab icon, Teams  Teams button, and Activity  Activity button apps. 

Breakdown by app

  • Chat  Teams Chat Tab icon and Teams  Teams button:

    • Adds +1 for every unmuted one-on-one chat, group chat, or meeting chat.

    • Chats that are muted don't contribute to the badge count.

    • The count clears when the chat is opened or marked as read.

    • Adds +1 for each channel with an unread personal @mention or an unread tag @mention.

    • The count clears when the channel is opened or the @mention is read.

If you have Chat  Teams Chat Tab icon and Teams Teams button separated, Chat Teams Chat Tab icon will count items from chats and Teams  Teams button will count items from channels. 

  • Activity  Activity button:

    • Shows the number of new activity items since your last visit.

    • The number clears when you navigate to the activity app.

How to clear the badge count 

You can clear the badge count in several ways: 

  1. Read the messages.

    • Open unread chats or channels to clear their respective counts.

    • Mentions can be cleared by:

      • Opening the channel directly.

      • Navigating to the Mentions or Tag mentions view at the top of the chat list and reading all mentions. ​​​​​​​

        Tip: Use the filters at the top of your list to easily find the items included in your badge count.

  2. Mark all as read.

    • At the top of the chat or channel list, select More options  Generic Ellipsis button > Mark all as read.

    • This clears all unread indicators and resets the badge count.

Related topics

Explore the Activity feed in Microsoft Teams

Manage notifications in Microsoft Teams

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