Red dot (circle) next to the app name below the app icon on the iPhone Home Screen on iOS 8

Question

What does the red dot (circle) next to the app name below the app icon mean?

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I added a Today Extension (Widget) to the app. It appears only when I launch the app on the iOS 8, it does not appear on iOS 7 simulator. Even though I removed the extension and cleared the simulator, it still appears before the app name.

possible duplicate of [Red dot next to app title?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/26372864/red-dot-next-to-app-title) — an0, Feb 20 '15 at 23:11

score 71 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 07 '14 at 12:43

71

An Orange dot next to an app normally means it's a beta version, as installed through Testflight. I have a couple of those at the moment, though one looks more red. Trying to find if there's a difference between an orange and a red dot, or if it's just an artefact of the colour of the background image that makes it look red.

answered Nov 07 '14 at 12:43

Phil Bowman

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Here is the final word on this that supports Phil's answer: https://itunesconnect.apple.com/docs/TestFlightFAQ.pdf – infinite-loop Jan 05 '15 at 16:12
Yes it says on page 6 "Beta apps will be indicated with an orange dot next to the app name on your device." But there are devices I install beta Apps and the orange dot do not appear... – Simon Aug 06 '15 at 11:28
Is there a way to hide it? Since I'm a developer it bugs me looking at all these dots that are breaking app names :) and I like having latest beta versions on my phone. – Edi Budimilic Feb 04 '19 at 19:15
Yes @PhilBowman, what I found on other links is, the light and dark colour depends on the background on Home Screen. – Mohit G. Jul 03 '20 at 11:20

score 39 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 19 '15 at 15:22

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The dot you see is actually an orange dot, with transparency. On dark backgrounds it seems like it's red. Try changing to a bright background.

answered Jan 19 '15 at 15:22

Peter Robert

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Thats it... it looks red on black background. – daihovey Apr 07 '15 at 04:06
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the question is what does the dot mean rather than the importance of the color. – iphondroid May 25 '15 at 09:35
Yes, you're right, the correct answer for the question is Phil Bowman's ;) – Peter Robert May 26 '15 at 07:32
this is untrue. i have both colors on the background – iosMentalist Mar 13 '19 at 09:19

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 18 '19 at 07:03

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Orange dots for all beta apps that are downloaded from TestFlight and blue dots for recently updated apps from App Store.

answered Jan 18 '19 at 07:03

Yogendra Singh

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I would add that the blue dot also appears right after installing new build from TestFlight, after opening it will become orange. – rgkobashi May 09 '19 at 03:44

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 03 '20 at 11:20

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Thanks for the question @user5673323221, and the answer by @PhilBowman. As apart from the red colour, there are few more colours as well such as yellow and blue having their specific meaning.

Check this Medium article for them all.

answered Jul 03 '20 at 11:20

Mohit G.

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Red dot (circle) next to the app name below the app icon on the iPhone Home Screen on iOS 8

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