The Screen Mirroring Icon
macOS includes native support for AirPlay and external displays. To make it easy to manage these connections, macOS can place a Screen Mirroring icon (which looks like two overlapping rectangles) directly in your menu bar. Clicking this icon allows you to quickly connect to an Apple TV, a compatible smart TV, or an iPad (via Sidecar) to extend or mirror your Mac’s display.
However, if you rarely or never cast your screen to external devices, this icon serves absolutely no purpose. It takes up valuable space in your menu bar that could be better used by other applications or simply left blank for a cleaner, minimalist aesthetic. Since you can always access the Screen Mirroring controls directly from the Control Center (the double-slider icon) when you actually need them, keeping a dedicated icon permanently pinned to the top of your screen is redundant and should be removed.
How to Hide the Screen Mirroring Icon
You can remove this display management icon via your System Settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings… (or System Preferences on older versions).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Control Center.
- In the right-hand pane, look for the section labelled Control Center Modules.
- Locate the Screen Mirroring option.
- Next to it, you will see a dropdown menu. Change the setting from “Always Show in Menu Bar” to Don’t Show in Menu Bar.
The overlapping rectangles icon will instantly disappear from your menu bar. When you do occasionally need to mirror your screen, simply click the main Control Center icon and select the Screen Mirroring option from there.