Hidden Bar not hiding icons?
Here’s the fix, and an alternative.
Hidden Bar is a free, simple way to tuck menu bar icons behind an arrow. On macOS 27, though, the App Store version hides nothing. Here’s how to fix that, and what to use if you want more than an arrow.
Fixing Hidden Bar on macOS 27
The 1.11.1 release notes explain it: the App Store build is sandboxed, so it can’t use macOS 27’s new hiding. To fix it:
- Quit Hidden Bar and delete the App Store version.
- Download Hidden Bar 1.11.1 or later from its GitHub releases page and move it to Applications.
- Open it and allow Accessibility. Without it, the bar stays expanded.
- ⌘-drag icons to the left of the arrow to hide them.
Hidden Bar notes that it relies on a private Apple framework, so a macOS update could break it again.
What Hidden Bar doesn’t do
- No list of your apps. Hidden icons come back only when you expand the bar. On a MacBook with a notch, expanded icons can still end up behind it.
- No way to reach switched-off apps. Apps you turned off in System Settings → Menu Bar stay unreachable.
- No memory use or Quit. You can’t see which menu bar app is slowing your Mac down.
ClearBar: a Hidden Bar alternative
- One click, no dragging. Every third-party icon hides. Apple’s battery, Wi-Fi, Control Center and clock stay visible. Drag an app into the In the menu bar row to keep its icon.
- Every app in one panel. Including ones behind the notch and ones switched off in System Settings. Click a tile and the app’s own menu opens.
- Memory use and Quit. Each tile shows the app’s RAM, helpers included, with Quit and Force Quit.
- Works on macOS 26 and 27. Accessibility only, never Screen Recording.
Hidden Bar is free and does one job well. If you only hide two or three icons, it may be all you need. If you want every app within reach, ClearBar is $5 for the first 100 buyers. See also how to get hidden menu bar apps back.
Hidden Bar status checked on GitHub on October 24, 2026. Hidden Bar is a trademark of its owner.
ClearBar at a glance
| What it is | A menu bar manager for Mac. It hides third-party menu bar icons and keeps every app one click away in a single panel. |
|---|---|
| Works on | macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27, on Apple silicon Macs (M1 or newer) |
| Price | $5 one-time for the first 100 buyers, then $12. No subscription. |
| Permissions | Accessibility only. It never asks for Screen Recording. |
| Beyond hiding | Memory use for every menu bar app, Quit and Force Quit, Docker containers, and your own keyboard shortcut |
| Privacy | No account and no analytics in the app |
| Refund | Full refund within 14 days |
| Made by | Vishrut, solo dev · Threads · X |
Questions
Why isn't Hidden Bar hiding icons on macOS 27?
The App Store version of Hidden Bar is sandboxed and can't use the new way macOS 27 hides icons. Only the download from Hidden Bar's GitHub page (version 1.11.1 or later) hides icons on macOS 27.
How do I fix Hidden Bar on macOS 27?
Quit and delete the App Store version, download Hidden-Bar-v1.11.1 from github.com/dwarvesf/hidden/releases, put it in Applications, open it and allow Accessibility. Then ⌘-drag icons to the left of the arrow to hide them.
What is a good Hidden Bar alternative?
ClearBar. It hides third-party icons in one click on macOS 26 and 27, and puts every menu bar app in one panel with its memory use and a Quit button, so hidden apps stay one click away. $5 for the first 100 buyers, then $12 once.
Is Hidden Bar still maintained?
Yes. After a long gap between 2022 and 2026, Hidden Bar released 1.10 in March 2026 and 1.11.1 in September 2026, which added macOS 27 hiding.
