The Vanishing Pointer
When you are watching a video in full-screen mode on a Mac—whether it is a movie in QuickTime, a YouTube video in Safari, or a presentation in Keynote—macOS will automatically hide the mouse cursor after a few seconds of inactivity. This is a highly desirable feature for media consumption, as a white arrow floating over a cinematic scene is distracting. However, if you are recording a screencast, teaching a software tutorial via screen share, or using your Mac as a teleprompter where you need to continuously reference the pointer’s location, this automatic hiding behavior becomes a severe hindrance.
Keeping the Cursor Visible
Unfortunately, macOS does not have a simple, global “never hide cursor” toggle in the standard System Settings. To stop macOS from automatically hiding the cursor during full-screen video playback or presentations, you generally have to rely on third-party utilities or specific application settings.
If the issue is occurring within a specific app like Keynote, check its preferences (Keynote > Settings > Slideshow) and uncheck the option to “Hide pointer when using mouse or trackpad.” For a global solution that prevents the cursor from ever hiding regardless of the application (even during full-screen YouTube videos), you will need to install a small, dedicated utility app. Programs like Cursorcerer or Jiggler (which simulates tiny mouse movements to prevent sleep/hiding) are popular solutions. Alternatively, if you are comfortable with the terminal, some users write AppleScripts to continuously move the mouse one pixel back and forth while running specific applications, completely bypassing the macOS inactivity timer.