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FAQ
Yes. The macOS 27 allow-list works on bundle ids, not individual items. An app with several items hides or shows them together. See How it works.
What does "Always hidden" mean?
Apps you switch on in Settings → Always hidden stay off the bar even while items are shown. They, and items macOS itself keeps off the bar (no room, behind the notch), are in the icon bar (⌥-click, the click mode or the shortcut).
macOS blocks Notification Center while the hiding allow-list is active, even if Notification Center is allowed. SmartHiddenBar works around it: a click on the clock lifts hiding until Notification Center closes, so hidden items show meanwhile.
Yes. The hiding lasts only while the app holds the allow-list. Quit, crash, Disable SmartHiddenBar or Show items and the full bar comes back.
Open source (MIT). No network access, no analytics, no accounts. It writes a log and preferences locally. It does use a private macOS API, so a macOS update can break hiding; the app then leaves everything visible.
To read other apps' menu bar items and menus, and to press them. Without it nothing can be listed or mirrored. See Permissions.
Releases are self-signed with a stable identity, so permissions survive updates (not notarized, so first launch still needs Open Anyway), so the grant survives updates; releases before 1.3.2 were ad-hoc signed and lost it. See Permissions.
Notarization needs a paid Apple Developer ID. Until then the first launch needs Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security, or xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine. See Installation. Prefer not to trust a binary? Build from source.
No. It requires macOS 27 and its private MenuBarClientCore API.
No. Apple's own items are always allowed.
No (per app).
macOS asks roughly monthly whether to keep allowing screen access. It is only needed for real menu bar icons; with app icons you can leave it off.
⌘-drag it. Items left of it hide; items right of it stay.
Preferences: defaults domain com.roypadina.SmartHiddenBar. Log: ~/Library/Logs/SmartHiddenBar.log.
I use Hidden Bar, Ice or Thaw.
Quit them first. See Troubleshooting.
