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Drop Down 0.9.6Early access to Pro featuresPro early access

Your menu bar, back under control.

Hide the icons you don’t need. They wait behind one chevron, open in a panel, and come back with a shortcut.

Download for Mac: Drop Down 0.9.6, a disk image for macOS 15 or laterGet Pro: Drop Down Pro, $3.99

Requires macOS 15+Apple siliconLast updated Nov 4, 2026

One chevron stays in the menu bar. Click it, or press the shortcut, and the icons you hid are right there.

Get the highlights.

Compare with other menu bar managers

One chevron stands in for the rest.

Drop Down’s chevron, on its own: the status item’s pill over violet light

Know when a hidden app has a notification.

Arrange the panel, or drag an icon back.

Five themes, or colours of your own.

The panel in the System theme: the system’s own material, a 4 × 4 grid over the wallpaperThe panel in Liquid Glass: a clear 4 × 4 grid of icons over the wallpaper, under the chevronThe panel in the Frost theme: a pale, frosted 4 × 4 grid over the wallpaperThe panel in the Graphite theme: a dark grey 4 × 4 grid over the wallpaperThe panel in the Drop Down theme: a violet 4 × 4 grid over the wallpaperThe panel in a Custom theme: a dark teal glass grid over a teal wallpaper

Liquid Glass

Every icon back, in one keystroke.

How it works

Up and running in four steps.

  1. Choose the apps. Turn off “Show in menu bar” for the apps you rarely need, in the setup or later in Settings › Menu Bar Items.

  2. They leave the menu bar. The bar keeps what you use every day, and one chevron stands in for the rest.

  3. Open the panel. Click the chevron or press ⌃⌥⌘D.

  4. Click an icon. That app’s own menu opens under the chevron, as if you had clicked its icon in the menu bar.

  5. Right-click for more. A cell’s menu opens the app’s secondary menu (⌥‑click does too), shows the icon in the menu bar again, opens the app, shows it in Finder or quits it.

  6. Drag it back. Drag an icon out of the panel onto the menu bar, and it is back in the bar.

  7. One click, even for stubborn apps. A few apps only answer a real click.

Settings › Menu Bar Items: the apps with menu bar icons, each with its “Show in menu bar” switch, over a pale wallpaper

On macOS 27 the system stops drawing their icons; on macOS 15 and 26 Drop Down moves them off the screen. A small panel opens right under it, with the hidden icons in a grid: glass on macOS 26 and later, translucent on macOS 15. On macOS 15 and 26 Drop Down moves just that icon beside the chevron until the menu closes; on macOS 27, Settings › General can show the icon in the menu bar each time instead.

Open the panel

Press ⌃⌥⌘D, or click the chevron.

The panel opens right under the chevron, in any app; the arrow keys move between its icons and Return opens the chosen app’s menu. Keep ⌃⌥⌘D or record your own.

The panel

Your icons, your layout.

Grid or list, as many cells as you like, pages when they don’t fit, and a theme over your wallpaper. Options marked Pro need Drop Down Pro; the rest are free in Basic.

Layout

The panel under the chevron as a 4 × 4 grid of menu bar icons in Liquid Glass, the + cell last

Grid size. Automatic, a fixed grid from 3 × 3 to 6 × 6, or any size up to 8 × 8. The panel fits the room under the menu bar.

Pro · Fixed sizes

The panel as one row of icons with the page bar under it, in a Custom theme over an orange wallpaper

Scroll or turn pages. When the icons don’t fit, scroll down, scroll sideways, or turn pages with dots, buttons, a swipe, the wheel or the arrow keys.

Pro · Sideways and pages

The panel as a list: every hidden icon on a row of its own beside its app’s name

List view. Every hidden icon on a row of its own, beside its app’s name, in the same order as the grid.

Pro · List view

The panel with large cells over a pale wallpaper, the + cell last

Icon size. Small, medium or large cells, for a compact panel or one you can hit without looking.

Pro · Icon sizes

The panel filtered by typing “d”: the search field above the matching icons, the first one outlined

Type to filter. Start typing while the panel is open and only the matching apps stay; Return opens the best match. With filtering off, typing jumps to the first match.

Pro · Filtering (jumping is in Basic)

The panel as a 3 × 3 grid of menu bar icons in Liquid Glass

Order. Alphabetical, the order the icons had in the menu bar, or a custom order: drag icons around in the panel, use ⌥ with the arrow keys, or sort the list in Settings.

Pro · Custom order

The panel in Liquid Glass: a clear 4 × 4 grid of icons over the wallpaper, under the chevron

Liquid Glass

Themes. Frost, Graphite, Drop Down’s own colours, or Custom with yours: a gradient of up to three or a blend of up to five, and as much glass as you want.

Pro · Every theme but System

Reach

Add an app, choose the shortcut, hide Apple’s own items.

Everything you need to take an icon out of the menu bar, or to get it back, is a click or a keystroke away: from the panel itself, from Settings, or with a shortcut of your own.

+
The last cell adds an app from the panel itself. In Basic.
Keep ⌃⌥⌘D or record your own. Pro · Custom shortcut.
Apple’s own items
Sound, Display, Screen Mirroring, Spotlight and more can hide too, each with its own switch in Settings › Menu Bar Items. In Basic.
The panel open under the chevron, a 4 × 4 grid in Liquid Glass with the dashed + cell in its last place
The panel showing each hidden icon as it looks in the menu bar: glyphs in a grid over the wallpaper

Real icons

The icons you know, or names and icons of your own.

With Screen Recording allowed, the panel shows each icon as it looks in your menu bar. The permission is optional: without it, the panel shows the app’s icon instead. The pictures never leave your Mac.

Or give an app a name and icon of your own: a symbol, an emoji or a picture, used only in the panel. Pro · Custom names and icons.

Notifications

Know when a hidden app has a notification.

Drop Down reads the badges hidden apps put on their Dock icons and shows a sign on the chevron; Settings › Notifications decides how, app by app.

Notification dot. While a hidden app has a notification, a dot shows on the chevron, and its tooltip names the app.

In Basic

Safety

Your menu bar, always within reach.

Every icon back, in one keystroke. Press ⌃⌥⌘H in any app, at any time, and every hidden icon returns to the menu bar. Hiding then stays paused until you resume it from the chevron’s menu.

In Basic, like every safety feature

  • A quit, a crash or a force quit brings every icon back.

  • Hold ⌥ while it opens to start with hiding paused.

  • Pauses while another manager runs, and tells you which.

  • Checks the menu bar after every change it makes.

  • After a system update it does not recognise, hiding stays off rather than guess.

  • Can pause hiding while a microphone or camera is in use.

Quitting brings the icons back

What happens.

The hiding ends together with Drop Down, so a quit, a crash or a force quit returns every icon. If Drop Down stops responding, its watchdog lets go after two seconds; on macOS 15 and 26, while icons are hidden, Drop Down then quits, and you open it again.

In Basic, like every safety feature

Safe mode

What happens.

Hold ⌥ while Drop Down opens and it starts with hiding paused. After two unexpected exits within ten minutes, it starts that way by itself.

In Basic, like every safety feature

One manager at a time

What happens.

Two menu bar managers undo each other’s hiding. Drop Down recognises the common ones, pauses while one of them runs and tells you which. Run only one manager at a time.

In Basic, like every safety feature

Checked after every change

What happens.

Each time it applies hiding, Drop Down checks that its chevron is still in the menu bar. On macOS 27, if the chevron disappears after it was shown, hiding stops until you resume it. On macOS 15 and 26 it checks the icons you chose to show too: if one of them, or the chevron, ended up hidden, every icon comes back and Drop Down tries again, and if hiding keeps failing, it pauses until you resume it. Either way, nothing ends up out of reach.

In Basic, like every safety feature

Careful with macOS updates

What happens.

On macOS 27 Drop Down checks the system service it hides icons with: if a system update changed it, hiding stays off and Drop Down says so, rather than guess.

In Basic, like every safety feature

Microphone and camera

What happens.

An option pauses hiding while any microphone or camera is in use, a headset’s microphone included; a headset that only plays sound does not count. It is off by default: on macOS 27.0.1 the recording indicators stayed visible while icons were hidden.

In Basic, like every safety feature

Good to know

  • An app’s menu bar icons hide together: one app, one switch.
  • On macOS 27, apps that run from outside the Applications folder stay hidden whenever hiding is on, even the ones you choose to show.
  • On macOS 27, the Globe+N shortcut for Notification Center does not work while icons are hidden. Clicking the clock opens it, and so does a shortcut you choose in Settings › Shortcuts; the hidden icons show for a moment meanwhile.
  • On macOS 27, Live Activities, such as a match score or a delivery, disappear from the menu bar while icons are hidden. They come back when you show every icon, when no hidden app is running, or when you quit Drop Down.
  • On macOS 27, Focus, Now Playing and Fast User Switching also disappear while icons are hidden, and Drop Down cannot keep them or hide them by choice. They show in the panel, dimmed, unless you turn that off, and opening one shows the hidden icons for about a second. They come back the same way as Live Activities.
  • On macOS 27, the menu of an app outside the Applications folder whose icon macOS does not show, even with every icon shown, cannot open from the panel. For Setapp, Drop Down opens the Setapp app instead.
  • On macOS 26, and on macOS 15 with one display, when you hide or show an app, Drop Down moves its icons straight to their side of the menu bar. Rarely, when one cannot be moved straight, the pointer jumps to the menu bar and back and the hidden icons show for a moment.
  • On macOS 26, and on macOS 15 with one display, opening a hidden icon from the panel moves it beside the chevron until its menu closes. Rarely, when it cannot be moved straight there, the other hidden icons show briefly; when it cannot be moved at all, they all show until the menu closes.
  • On macOS 15 with more than one display, when you hide or show an app, Drop Down moves its icons, and the pointer jumps to the menu bar and back for a moment. Showing an app, and on some displays hiding one, also shows the hidden icons for a moment.
  • On macOS 15 with more than one display, opening a hidden icon from the panel moves it beside the chevron until its menu closes, and the pointer jumps for a moment. The other hidden icons may show briefly; when the icon cannot be moved, they all show until the menu closes.
  • On macOS 15 and 26, an app that shows a menu bar icon for the first time can stay hidden for a few seconds until Drop Down moves its icon.
  • System items can be hidden from 15.6 on macOS 15 and from 26.6 on macOS 26, where Wi‑Fi, Battery, Bluetooth, Siri, the clock and Control Center stay in the menu bar. On macOS 27, Sound, Display, Screen Mirroring, Spotlight, Wi‑Fi, Battery and Bluetooth can be hidden only while Drop Down also hides an app; at other times they stay in the menu bar. Sound, Display, Screen Mirroring and Bluetooth need macOS 27.2. The clock and Control Center always stay.
  • On macOS 15 and 26, if macOS removes a system item just after Drop Down moved it, Settings › Menu Bar Items says so, and the system items you hid return to the menu bar until that item is back.
  • Notification signs come from the badge an app puts on its Dock icon: an app without a Dock icon, or one not allowed to badge its icon, gets no sign.
  • On macOS 27, while the panel is open, a hidden app in the Applications folder whose notification is newer than its picture shows in the menu bar for about a second, so the panel can picture it, and the screen-recording indicator lights for a moment. It happens only with Screen Recording allowed and the panel set to show menu bar icons.

Privacy

No telemetry. No account. No tracking.

Drop Down has no telemetry and nothing to sign in to. It asks updates.getdropdown.app once a day whether there is a new version, without a system profile, and downloads an update you accept. The server counts checks and downloads, with the country and a daily token instead of your IP address, so we know roughly how many copies are in use. If you buy Pro, the app also asks Polar’s license service to activate your key and to check it about once a day; Polar records when each key was last checked, which we can see, and nothing about how you use Drop Down. Pictures of your menu bar stay on your Mac.

Read the privacy policy

Pricing

Free to use.
Pro when you want more.

Drop Down is in Early Access until version 1.0. Basic is free.Pro is a one-time purchase, updates included: $3.99 until 1.0, $6.99 after.Pro bought during Early Access stays Pro at 1.0 and after.

  • Drop Down Basic

    For anyone who wants a tidy menu bar.

    Free

    What’s included:

    • No account or license key
    • Hide the icons you choose
    • The panel
    • Real menu bar icons
    • Add apps with the + button
    • A dot for notifications
    • Every safety feature
    • Updates included
    Download free: Drop Down 0.9.6, a disk image for macOS 15 or later
  • Early Access price

    Drop Down Pro

    For people who want the panel their way.

    $3.99 / once

    Everything in Basic, plus:

    • Up to 3 Macs at a time
    • Grid sizes and pages
    • Icon sizes and list view
    • Filtering and custom order
    • Panel themes
    • Your own names and icons
    • Every notification sign
    • Updates included
    • Pay once, no subscription
    Buy Pro — $3.99

Without Pro, your Pro choices are kept rather than deleted, the panel shows its Basic layout, notification signs fall back to the red dot, and no app’s icon shows in the menu bar for a while after a notification. On macOS 27, while the panel is open, a hidden app’s icon can still show for about a second so the panel can take a fresh picture of it.

One-time purchases, no subscription. Prices in US dollars; depending on your country, tax is included or added at checkout. Polar handles the checkout and the payment as our merchant of record, and emails your license key; you activate it in Settings › License. Basic is free with no time limit, so you can try Drop Down on your Mac first; if Pro then does not work on your Mac as this site describes it, a full refund within 14 days: see the refund policy and the terms of use.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Something else? Ask on the feedback board.

All questions
What do I need to run Drop Down?

A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later. Intel Macs cannot run it, even with macOS 15 or 26. On macOS 27 it must run from the Applications folder (a folder inside it works too), because macOS 27 keeps Drop Down’s own chevron in the menu bar only for apps there; started from anywhere else, it hides nothing and offers to move itself. On macOS 15 and 26 it works from any folder, though a copy opened straight from the disk image cannot update itself.

Which permissions does it ask for?

Accessibility, which it needs: Drop Down uses it to find the icons in the menu bar, to open hidden ones, to read the badges on your Dock icons so it can show when a hidden app has a notification and, on macOS 15 and 26, to move icons when you hide or show an app or open a hidden icon. Screen Recording is optional: with it, Drop Down takes pictures of the menu bar so the panel can show the real icons; without it, the panel shows app icons. The pictures stay on your Mac. Details are in the privacy policy.

What happens if Drop Down quits or crashes?

Your icons come back. The hiding ends together with Drop Down, however it ends: a quit, a crash or a force quit. If Drop Down stops responding, a watchdog lets go after two seconds; on macOS 15 and 26, while icons are hidden, that means Drop Down quits, and you open it again. And ⌃⌥⌘H shows every icon at any time.

How much does it cost?

Basic is free: hiding, the panel with its automatic grid, real menu bar icons, the + button, a dot when a hidden app has a notification, the default shortcuts and every safety feature. Drop Down Pro adds the panel and notification options marked Pro. It is a one-time purchase, updates included: $3.99 during Early Access and $6.99 from 1.0, for up to 3 Macs. You pay in US dollars; a price shown in another currency is today’s equivalent. The pricing section compares the plans.

What is Early Access?

Every version of Drop Down before 1.0. The app works and is updated often, and features may still change on the way to 1.0. Until then Pro costs $3.99 instead of $6.99, and Pro bought during Early Access stays Pro at 1.0 and after.

Can I get a refund?

Within 14 days of the purchase, yes: a full refund when Pro does not work on your Mac, does not do what this site says it does, or your Mac cannot run Drop Down (an Intel Mac, or a Mac on a macOS version before 15). Basic is free with no time limit, so you can try hiding, the panel and every safety feature on your own Mac before you pay; a change of mind about Pro that works as described is not covered. Duplicate purchases are always refunded, and a withdrawal right the law gives you, as in the EU, the EEA and the UK, applies in full. To ask, use the refund request form: it puts your request into an email you send yourself. After a refund the key stops working, and Drop Down carries on as Basic with your Pro choices kept. The refund policy has the details.

Give your menu bar some room.

Basic is free. Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later.

Download for Mac: Drop Down 0.9.6, a disk image for macOS 15 or later

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