How to Clean Up Your Mac’s Menu Bar (Without Using Third-Party Software)

The Mac menu bar is a bit of a mess. Far too many apps want to place icons in the upper right corner of the screen, and most users only want to see a fraction of them. This is a particular problem on recent MacBooks, where the camera notch obscures part of the space right in the middle of the menu bar. This is why apps to clean up the Mac menu bar are so popular: the clutter can seem overwhelming.

Here’s the thing though: you probably don’t need to leave apps like that running all the time. You can hide the icons in macOS settings and then use a free tool once to bring all the icons closer together. Here’s how.

How to hide icons in Mac system settings

Tahoe, also known as macOS 26, has given users a lot to talk about, which means a few features have been largely overlooked. One of them: the ability to hide any menu bar icon, no third-party software required. To use this feature, open system settings and go to Menu bar section. You’ll see the option to turn system icons on and off, like Siri and Spotlight. Keep scrolling, though, and you’ll have the option to hide the icons for any of your installed apps. Simply disable any app you prefer not to see in the menu bar and it will disappear.

I’ve been using it for months to disable unwanted icons, and it works well for me. That said, it’s not a perfect replacement. Apps like Bartender and Ice don’t just hide icons: they give you access to a secondary status bar where you can still occasionally access the icons you’ve hidden. There is no quick way to do this using macOS settings. Still: It’s a free way to hide unwanted icons, and there’s no need to run any third-party software.

Credit: Justin Pot

If your menu bar always seems cluttered, you can free up a little more space by bringing all your icons together. A free app called Menu Bar Spacing lets you change the spacing in your menu bar. Just download the app, move the slider and your icons will come closer.

The advantage of menu bar spacing, as an application, is that it doesn’t need to be running all the time. You can run it once, make any changes you want, then delete it: your setting will still apply. Indeed, the application modifies some hidden macOS settings. You can make the changes yourself using the terminal if you prefer not to use an app, but I think the app makes things a little easier.

There is a small caveat for macOS 26 users. Due to a bug, only Apple icons will come together at first. Your other applications will need to be restarted before regrouping. This means you’ll have to manually close and relaunch each app, or simply restart your Mac. It’s annoying, but only relevant right after changing the settings. And you’ll have a lot more space on your menu bar when you’re done.