The MacBook notch divides people. If it bugs you, macOS and a few free tools give you several ways to make it disappear. Here's every method, from a built-in setting to third-party apps — and why you might not want to hide it at all.

Method 1 — Scaled resolution (built-in, no apps)

macOS can letterbox the top of the screen so the notch hides behind a uniform black bar:

  1. Open System Settings → Displays.
  2. Hold Option and click Scaled to reveal all resolutions.
  3. Pick a resolution marked as not using the full screen — macOS pads the menu-bar area black, hiding the notch.

Trade-off: you lose roughly 74 vertical pixels of menu bar. Everything shifts down slightly. Free and reversible.

Method 2 — A black menu bar wallpaper trick

If your wallpaper has a black strip at the very top, the notch blends in visually while you keep full resolution. Apps like TopNotch automate this by sampling your wallpaper and blacking out the menu-bar background. Free, and you keep your pixels.

Method 3 — Third-party notch utilities

Tools such as TopNotch and Forehead exist purely to camouflage the notch. They're lightweight and do one job well. But they only hide the notch — they don't give that screen area any purpose.

The better option: make the notch useful

Hiding the notch reclaims a cosmetic annoyance but wastes the hardware. The notch sits in space the menu bar already occupies, so it costs you nothing — unless you blank it out, which actually removes usable pixels.

A notch app like NotchNest takes the opposite approach: hover the notch and it expands into a productivity panel — calendar, AI clipboard, Quick Notes, Pomodoro, music controls and drag-to-AirDrop. You stop noticing the notch because it's doing something. Try the interactive notch playground to see it without installing anything.

How to bring the notch back

Every method above is reversible. Set your resolution back to Default in Displays, or quit the camouflage app. No system files are changed.

NotchNest

Make your notch useful

NotchNest puts ten tools in your MacBook's notch. Free on the Mac App Store.

Download on the Mac App Store

Frequently asked

Can you fully remove the MacBook notch?
No — the notch is physical hardware housing the camera. You can only hide it visually with a scaled resolution or a black menu bar, both of which are reversible.
Does hiding the notch lose screen space?
Yes. Hiding it with a scaled resolution or black bar removes about 74 vertical pixels of menu-bar area. Using the notch (instead of hiding it) keeps all your pixels.
What is the best app to hide the Mac notch?
TopNotch is the most popular free camouflage app. But many users prefer NotchNest, which makes the notch useful rather than hiding it.
Does hiding the notch help battery or performance?
No. The notch has no performance cost. Hiding it is purely cosmetic.

Keep learning

What is the macOS notch?

Basics, decoded.

Menu bar icons missing behind notch

Fix hidden icons.

How to use the MacBook notch

Make it useful in 3 steps.