How To Add/Remove Menu Bar Items on a Mac (Even Third Party Icons!) FAST & EASY
Learn how to add or remove menu bar items on your Mac quickly and easily. Discover how to manage Control Center and hide stubborn third-party icons.
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Learn how to add or remove menu bar items on your Mac / MacBook, quickly and easily! You'll learn how to add or hide control center icons, and even those pesky third party menu bar items, too.
Links:
- Hidden Bar App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hidden-bar/id1452453066
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:22 Types of Menu Bar Icons
0:35 Add/Remove Control Center Icons
1:09 Quick Tip 1 - Clock Options
1:22 Quick Tip 2 - Auto-Hide Menu Bar Option
1:40 Add/Remove Third Party Icons
2:08 Install/Configure Hidden Bar
2:34 How To Use Hidden Bar
3:10 Subscribe
3:20 Outro
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- Toggle native macOS icons (like Wi-Fi and Battery) by navigating to Apple Menu > System Settings > Control Center.
- Free up menu bar space instantly by changing your clock style to "Analog" or enabling the "Auto-Hide Menu Bar" feature.
- Check for built-in hide settings on third-party apps by right-clicking their menu bar icons before seeking external solutions.
- Install the free Hidden Bar app to easily manage and conceal stubborn third-party icons that cannot be hidden natively.
- Hold Command and drag unwanted icons to the left of the Hidden Bar's vertical line (
|), then click the chevron (>) to collapse and hide them. - Right-click the Hidden Bar chevron to hide the vertical separator line itself for a perfectly minimalist menu bar.
A cluttered Mac menu bar can easily become overwhelming and visually distracting. Whether you want a minimalist desktop or just need to make room for your most important tools, customizing your menu bar is the perfect solution.
By the end of this guide, you will know exactly how to hide just about any icon from your Mac's menu bar, including those tricky third-party app icons that don't seem to want to leave.
Understanding the Two Types of Menu Bar Icons
Before cleaning up your workspace, it helps to understand what you are looking at. There are two primary types of icons that live in your Mac menu bar:
- Control Center Icons: These are native macOS system icons, such as volume, battery, Wi-Fi, Spotlight, and Siri.
FAQ
Quick answers to the questions people usually ask about this topic.
Can I rearrange the order of my Mac menu bar icons?
Can I rearrange the order of my Mac menu bar icons?
Yes! You can easily rearrange your icons. Simply hold down the Command key on your Mac keyboard, then click and drag the icon to your preferred position in the menu bar. This is the exact same method you use to drag icons into the hidden section when configuring the Hidden Bar app.
Is there a free app to hide stubborn Mac menu bar icons?
Is there a free app to hide stubborn Mac menu bar icons?
Yes, Hidden Bar is a completely free utility available directly from the Mac App Store. It allows you to tuck away third-party icons that don't offer a native hide feature behind a collapsible chevron.
How do I make the Mac menu bar disappear entirely when I am not using it?
How do I make the Mac menu bar disappear entirely when I am not using it?
You can achieve an ultra-minimalist desktop by auto-hiding the entire menu bar. Go to System Settings (or System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar on older macOS versions), navigate to the Control Center settings, and toggle the "Automatically hide and show the menu bar" option. The menu bar will stay hidden and only slide down when you move your cursor to the very top edge of the screen.
Why do some third-party app icons refuse to leave the menu bar?
Why do some third-party app icons refuse to leave the menu bar?
While well-designed apps (like Notion) allow you to right-click and hide their icon from their own settings, many third-party applications simply do not include an option to disable their menu bar presence. Because macOS does not natively force third-party icons into a hidden overflow menu, you have to rely on external extensions like Hidden Bar to clean them up.
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