Liquid Glass on a Mac: Clear or Tinted, and how to tone it down

Current macOS draws buttons, menus and the Dock in see through Liquid Glass. Where the setting is, what Clear and Tinted look like, and how to make it plainer.

Guide · Updated 22 October 2026

Where are the Liquid Glass settings?

Open System Settings, Appearance. On macOS 27 the pane has a Liquid Glass choice with two looks:

ChoiceLooks like
ClearMost see through; content behind shows strongly
TintedA coloured layer behind controls, so they stand apart from the content

With Tinted, Liquid Glass Tint Amount sets how strong the layer is.

Can I turn Liquid Glass off?

Not as such, but Reduce Transparency, in the same Appearance pane and in Accessibility, Display, makes the surfaces solid. System Settings warns that changing one may switch the other off, so set Liquid Glass first, then Reduce Transparency.

What else in Appearance changes the look?

  • Tint window background with wallpaper color: windows pick up a hint of the wallpaper.
  • Icon & widget style, and icon, widget and folder colour: how app icons and folders are drawn.
  • Sidebar icon size: Small, Medium or Large.
  • Show scroll bars: see always show scroll bars.

Make it fully solid: reduce transparency. The menu bar in particular: menu bar transparency.

Checked on 22 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1: Liquid Glass, Clear, Tinted, Liquid Glass Tint Amount, Reduce Transparency and the warning between them were read from System Settings, Appearance.

Questions

How do I change Liquid Glass on a Mac?

In System Settings, Appearance, choose Clear or Tinted under Liquid Glass.

Can you turn off Liquid Glass on Mac?

Not entirely, but Reduce Transparency makes menus, sidebars and the Dock solid.

What is the difference between Clear and Tinted?

Clear is the most see through; Tinted puts a coloured layer behind controls so they stand out.

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