The menu bar has been a permanent fixture at the top of the Mac screen since the very first Macintosh was released in 1984. It holds the Apple logo, the File and Edit menus for your active applications, and your system icons like Wi-Fi and Battery.
While the menu bar is incredibly useful, it does consume a strip of permanent vertical screen space. If you are working on a smaller 13-inch MacBook, every pixel counts. If you want a truly immersive, distraction-free desktop experience, you can tell macOS to automatically hide the menu bar when you aren’t using it.
How to Hide the Menu Bar in macOS Ventura and Later
If your Mac is running macOS Ventura, Sonoma, or a newer operating system, Apple has moved the menu bar settings into the Control Center menu.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of the screen.
- Select System Settings.
- In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click on Control Center.
- Scroll down the right-hand panel until you reach the section labeled Menu Bar Only.
- Look for the setting that says Automatically hide and show the menu bar.
- Click the drop-down menu next to it. You have four choices:
- Always: The menu bar will always be hidden, regardless of what you are doing.
- On Desktop Only: The menu bar will hide when you are looking at your wallpaper, but will appear when you open an app.
- In Full Screen Only: (This is the default). The menu bar is always visible unless you put a specific app into full-screen mode.
- Never: The menu bar will never hide.
- Select Always to completely hide it.
The moment you click “Always,” the menu bar will slide up and off the top edge of your screen, giving you extra vertical space.
How to Access a Hidden Menu Bar
Hiding the menu bar does not disable it; it just moves it out of the way.
When you need to click “File” or check your Wi-Fi status, simply push your mouse pointer all the way to the very top edge of the screen. The menu bar will instantly slide down into view. The moment you move your mouse away from the top edge, the menu bar will slide back up and hide again.
How to Hide the Menu Bar in macOS Monterey and Older
If you are using an older Mac that cannot update to the newer System Settings layout, the process is slightly different.
- Click the Apple Logo and select System Preferences.
- Click on the Dock & Menu Bar icon.
- In the sidebar, ensure “Dock & Menu Bar” is selected.
- Check the box next to Automatically hide and show the menu bar on desktop.
- Check the box next to Automatically hide and show the menu bar in full screen.
Just like the modern versions, simply slam your mouse cursor into the top of the screen to reveal the bar whenever you need it.