In this post, we will show you a couple methods to quickly hide all icons on your Mac desktop, creating a clean and organized workspace.
Some people love to keep their Mac desktop clutter-free, while some don’t mind having all their files on the desktop. If you belong to the former group of people, then you will find this article useful.
Having files on the desktop will make it easy for you to find them super fast, but they can pile up and clutter the space. One way to deal with the clutter is to simply hide the files on the desktop. Doing this means that the display will look clean, but the files are always there, just not visible to you.
Hiding the icons is also a great privacy step if you are taking a screenshot of your desktop and don’t want your image thumbnails and file names to show on it.
Hide desktop icons on Mac with a third-party app
One of the best and simplest ways to hide the disk, files, folders, and all other icons from your Mac’s desktop is to use HiddenMe, which costs $1.99. I have been using it for several years and love it. But if you’re looking for a free app, we have some great options for you.
- Download the SecretDesktop app from the Mac App Store.
- Open the app and its icon will show up in the top menu bar. Click it and choose Hide Desktop Icons. All the visible icons will disappear from view.
- When you want to see the desktop icons again, click the SecretDesktop app icon from the menu bar and uncheck Hide Desktop Icons.
In addition to SecretDesktop, you can also try Hide Icons or Desktop Declutter – Hide Icons. Both these apps work well in the same way as the one we mentioned above.
If you are still searching, you can try Desktop Icon Hider or iLove Hide Desktop. However, in addition to hiding the desktop icons, these apps also change the desktop wallpaper when I use them on my Mac running macOS Sequoia developer beta.
Tip: You can also enable some of the above apps to open automatically when you restart your Mac.
Also see: 14 useful free apps for your Mac menu bar
Use Terminal to hide icons from your Mac desktop
If you do not want to use a third-party app, you can hide icons on your desktop by using a simple Terminal command. Remember to save these commands to your Notes app or bookmark this page for future use.
1) Launch Terminal on your Mac and enter the following command:
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false
2) Now type in:
killall Finder
3) After hitting enter, the desktop icons should be hidden. After hiding the icons, you can view them from the Finder.
4) To reveal the icons, you’ll need to launch Terminal again and use this command:
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true; killall Finder
On a related note: