How to customize the menu bar on a Mac and remove the icons you do not use

How do I rearrange menu bar icons on a Mac?

Hold ⌘ and drag an icon left or right. Let go where you want it. This works for Apple's icons and most apps' icons.

How do I remove items from the menu bar?

• Drag it off. Hold ⌘, drag the icon down out of the menu bar and let go. Works for Apple's icons.
• Apple's controls. System Settings, Menu Bar. Each control (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, battery and more) has a choice such as Always Show in Menu Bar, Show When Active or Don't Show in Menu Bar.
• Apps' icons. In the same pane, Allow in the Menu Bar lists the apps that add an icon. Turn one off and, in macOS's own words, it is prevented from ever appearing in the menu bar.

Why are some menu bar icons hidden?

There is not enough room. When an app's menus are long, icons on the right are cut off, and on MacBooks with a camera notch some sit behind it. Removing the icons you do not use is the built in answer.

Can I hide the whole menu bar?

Yes: Automatically hide and show the menu bar, in the same Menu Bar settings. See auto hiding the menu bar.

For the Dock at the other end of the screen: customize the Dock.

Checked on 16 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1, by reading its settings and the labels in System Settings. Nothing was changed. The pane is called Menu Bar on this Mac; earlier versions put these settings under Control Center.