6 Ways to Remove Items from Menu Bar on Mac

The menu bar at the top of your Mac screen is a handy feature that displays icons for apps and system features, but over time, it can become cluttered and hard for you to quickly locate which is which. In previous macOS versions, users could remove menu bar items by holding Command and dragging them to delete. However, this drag-delete method no longer works.

How to remove items from the Menu bar on Mac? In this guide, we'll walk you through different methods to declutter both system icons and third-party app icons. Let’s dive in.

1. Remove System Icons via System Settings/ System Preferences

Starting with system icons. macOS allows you to easily manage a list of system icons through the System Settings, including:

• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• Airdrop
• Focus
• Keyboard Brightness
• Screen Monitoring
• Display
• Sound
• Now Playing

These icons can be toggled off directly and removed from the Mac menu bar. However, it’s worth noting that even though they won’t show in the menu bar as an individual, they will always clutter in the Control Center, which can not be removed from the menu bar.

To remove system icons from the Mac menu bar, simply untick Show in menu Bar for the relevant item.

2. Disable Third-Party App Icons From the App Itself

Many third-party apps place icons in the menu bar after you first launch them, and these can be tricky to remove. Unlike system icons, you can’t manage third-party items via macOS, but fortunately, most apps offer an option to disable the display in the Mac menu bar within the app's settings. BuhoCleaner is such an example.

BuhoCleaner is an easy one to remove from the menu bar on Mac. What about the tough ones to remove?

3. Quit the App to Remove Its Icon

Some apps will keep their icon in the menu bar with no option to disable it. For a situation like this, you can always try quitting the app to remove the icon temporarily.

First, click on the app's icon in the menu bar. Look for the Quit, Exit, or Close option in the app's drop-down menu. Some apps may show these options after holding the Option or Control key while clicking on the icon.

If there are no options such as Quit, or the app continues running in the background even after you close the main application window, you can use Activity Monitor to force quit the app or its background processes:

1. Open Finder > Applications > Utilities and locate Activity Monitor. Or use Spotlight by pressing Command + Space and typing Activity Monitor.
2. Look for the app you want to quit.
3. Select the app’s process, then click the Stop button (an octagon with an X inside at the top-left corner of the Activity Monitor window).

By doing so, you should notice the item disappear from the Mac menu bar.

4. Disable Login Items

Some login items may be launched automatically when you start your Mac. These apps often run in silence even when you're not using them, particularly for some system optimization tools such as Mac cleaners. You can stop these apps from showing in your menu bar by adjusting your Login Items.

1. Open System Settings and go to Users & Groups > Login Items. Here, you can see a list of apps that are set to open automatically when your Mac starts.
2. To stop an app from running at login, simply remove it from this list.

5. Using Third-Party Menu Bar Managers

If you’re looking for more advanced ways to remove and manage your Mac menu bar icons, third-party apps like BuhoBarX are highly recommended. These menu bar managers give you greater control over which icons are visible, be it third-party icons or system icons, including hiding icons or organizing them into collapsible groups. Let’s see how BuhoBarX does the trick:

• One-Click Cleanup: Quickly hide or show icons, keeping your menu bar neat and minimizing clutter.
• Drag-and-Drop Ordering: BuhoBarX gives you the ability to reorder the icons in the menu bar. All you need to do is drag and drop icons into the desired position or group them into collapsible sections.
• Hidden and Always-Hidden Sections: The app lets you manage icons by placing them into Visible, Hidden, or Always-Hidden sections, so you can remove icons you rarely need, or keep certain icons out of sight without removing them entirely. You can also bring them back easily with just a click when needed.

If you’ve tried all the methods above but still couldn’t find a way to properly remove items from the Mac menu bar, give BuhoBarX a try, and it might surprise you.

6. Removing Leftover Icons After Uninstalling Apps

In several situations, even after uninstalling an app, its icon remains in the menu bar. This is often due to leftover files that were not removed during the uninstallation process. To fully remove these icons, you need to delete the associated plist files.

Open the Finder and go to the following directories:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents
• /Library/LaunchAgents
• /System/Library/LaunchAgents

Look for files related to the uninstalled app and delete them.

Tips: To avoid this issue, it’s recommended to use a professional Mac cleanup tool like BuhoCleaner, which removes apps completely and ensures that all associated files and icons are deleted.

Sum up

This post shows how to remove icons from the Mac menu bar by quitting apps, adjusting system settings, disabling login items, and using third-party tools. With so many ways to remove menu bar icons, you can easily manage your Mac's menu bar to keep your workspace neat and clutter-free.