The Desktop Stacks Feature
In macOS Mojave, Apple introduced “Desktop Stacks,” a feature designed to automatically clean up messy desktop screens. When enabled, macOS intelligently groups all your scattered files into neat little piles (or “stacks”) based on their file type. For example, all your PNG and JPG files are grouped into an “Images” stack, while all your PDFs are grouped into a “Documents” stack. While this looks incredibly tidy, many users rely on spatial memory—remembering exactly where they placed a specific screenshot or document on their screen. Stacks completely overrides this spatial placement, hiding files within groups and making them harder to find at a glance.
How to Disable Desktop Stacks
If you prefer a free-form desktop where files stay exactly where you drop them, you can easily turn off the automatic Stacks grouping.
1. Navigate to your Mac’s Desktop (minimise or hide any open application windows).
2. Right-click (or control-click) anywhere on the empty desktop wallpaper.
3. In the context menu that appears, look for the option labelled Use Stacks.
4. If Stacks is currently active, there will be a small tick mark next to this option. Click Use Stacks to untick it and disable the feature.
Restoring Your Scattered Files
The moment you disable the Stacks feature, the neat piles will instantly disappear, and all your files, folders, and screenshots will explode back across your desktop. They will generally return to the exact coordinates they occupied before Stacks was turned on. You are now free to drag and drop your icons into whatever custom arrangement works best for your personal workflow, and macOS will no longer attempt to reorganise them for you.