The Local Network Clutter
Bonjour is Apple’s zero-configuration networking protocol. It is the invisible magic that allows Macs, iPhones, printers, and Apple TVs on the same Wi-Fi network to instantly discover each other without you having to manually enter IP addresses. By default, macOS leverages this protocol to automatically populate the “Locations” section of your Finder sidebar with any other Bonjour-enabled computers or servers it detects on your local network. This makes it incredibly easy to quickly share files with a coworker in the same office or access a family media server.
However, if you are working on a massive public Wi-Fi network—like a university campus, a corporate enterprise network, or a busy coffee shop—Bonjour will actively discover and display dozens of strange computers belonging to other people. Your Finder sidebar will quickly become bloated with unknown hostnames (like “John’s MacBook Air” or “Marketing iMac”). Not only does this look messy, but it can also be slightly disconcerting to see so many unknown devices appearing in your file manager. If you rarely share files over the local network via Finder, you should hide these automatic discoveries.
How to Hide Bonjour Computers in the Sidebar
You can stop local network computers from appearing in your sidebar via the Finder Settings.
- Click the Finder icon in your Dock so that “Finder” is the active application.
- In the top menu bar, click on Finder, then select Settings… (or Preferences).
- In the Settings window, click on the Sidebar tab at the top.
- Look under the “Locations” section for the network-related checkboxes.
- Locate the checkbox labelled Bonjour computers.
- Click the checkbox to remove the checkmark.
- Close the Settings window.
Your Finder sidebar will instantly clean itself up, removing all automatically discovered local computers. (Note: You can still manually connect to specific local servers by clicking “Go” in the top menu bar and selecting “Connect to Server…”).