The Redundant Icon
Introduced in macOS Big Sur, the Control Center brought the iOS-style quick settings panel to the Mac desktop. By default, Apple places a dedicated Control Center icon (two small toggle switches) permanently on the far right side of your menu bar, right next to the date and time. Clicking it gives you immediate access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Display Brightness, and Sound controls in one unified panel.
However, many power users find this dedicated icon completely redundant. macOS allows you to pin individual controls (like the Wi-Fi status or Sound slider) directly to the menu bar anyway. If you already have your most-used toggles pinned individually, the master Control Center icon just wastes valuable pixels. Furthermore, if you prefer using keyboard shortcuts or Spotlight to manage your system settings, the icon serves no purpose. If you value a minimalist desktop environment, you should remove it.
How to Hide the Control Center Icon
You can remove this master icon via the Control Center preferences.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings… (or System Preferences).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Control Center.
- In the right-hand pane, scroll down to the very bottom of the module list.
- Look for the section labelled Menu Bar Only (or similar, depending on your macOS version).
- Locate the Control Center option.
- Change the dropdown menu setting from “Always Show in Menu Bar” to Don’t Show in Menu Bar (or toggle the switch to Off).
The double-slider icon will vanish from your menu bar. You can still access all of those settings individually via the System Settings app, keeping your menu bar clean and focused on only the icons you truly need.