How to hide menu bar icons on a Mac
Every app you install seems to want a spot in the menu bar. After a while the right side of the screen is a wall of icons, and on a MacBook with a notch some of them simply vanish because there’s no room.
macOS 27 has more control over this than older versions did. Here’s what’s built in, and when a menu bar manager app is still worth installing.
Turn off app icons in Menu Bar settings
- Open Apple menu > System Settings.
- Click Menu Bar in the sidebar.
- Under Allow in the Menu Bar, turn off the apps whose icons you don’t want.
Apple’s description of this switch is blunt: turning off a menu bar item prevents it from ever appearing in the menu bar. The app itself keeps working; you just won’t see its icon. If you need the app’s menu later, turn the switch back on.
Choose when system icons appear
System items such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Sound or Focus are set in the same Menu Bar settings. For each one you can pick:
- Always Show in Menu Bar
- When Space Allows: shown only if there’s room, handy on a MacBook with a notch
- Don’t Show in Menu Bar: it stays available in Control Center
Rearrange or remove icons with Command-drag
- Rearrange: hold Command and drag an icon left or right.
- Remove: hold Command and drag the icon out of the menu bar.
This is the fastest way to tidy up, and it works for most system items and many apps.
Hide the whole menu bar
If you want maximum screen space, turn on Automatically hide and show the menu bar in System Settings > Menu Bar. The menu bar then slides in only when you move the pointer to the top of the screen. You can also turn off Show menu bar background if you prefer the icons floating over your wallpaper.
Some icons won’t go away
A few apps only exist in the menu bar, with no window of their own. Hiding their icon can leave you with no way to reach them. For those:
- look in the app’s own settings for a “Show in menu bar” option, or
- quit the app and remove it from Open at Login in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions if you don’t need it running.
When a menu bar manager is worth it
The built-in settings are all-or-nothing per icon. Menu bar managers add a middle ground: icons stay running but tucked behind a single button until you need them. Popular choices are Ice (free and open source) and Bartender (paid).
They make sense if you have a dozen or more menu bar apps, or a MacBook notch that keeps eating icons. If you only have a few, the built-in settings above are enough.
Make the icons you keep count
A menu bar works best with a handful of icons that each tell you something useful at a glance. For example, free disk space in the menu bar warns you before the disk fills up, and a clipboard manager earns its spot if you paste a lot. And if a keep-awake app is in there, see the built-in ways to keep your Mac awake first; you might not need it.
Questions
How do I remove an app's icon from the Mac menu bar?
In macOS 27, open System Settings > Menu Bar and turn off the app under Allow in the Menu Bar. You can also hold Command and drag an icon out of the menu bar to remove it.
Why are some menu bar icons missing on my MacBook?
On MacBooks with a notch, the menu bar has less room. When there are more icons than fit, some aren't shown. Remove icons you don't need, or set system items to show only When Space Allows.
Can I hide the whole menu bar?
Yes. In System Settings > Menu Bar, turn on Automatically hide and show the menu bar. It then appears only when you move the pointer to the top of the screen.