Is it possible to create Altium PCB footprints without designator labels?
I don't think there is such a function to always hide the designator on an individual footprint basis, but rather than deleting it, change the visibility:

Or select the component, right-click E, D
Use &quot;find similar objects&quot; to select groups if you have a lot of them, then you can untick the box.

Your choice should be preserved through iterative updates from schematic so it's not a big deal to do it once. Most likely you'd be fiddling with each designator manually to position it anyway, hiding it is less work.