06:00
Dynamic wallpapers keep moving.
Time-of-day and light/dark wallpapers keep every frame and their own schedule, so your desktop still shifts with the hour, or with dark mode, under a black bar. The first pass takes a few seconds.
Free · Open source · macOS 14+ · Apple silicon · v1.0.2
Black out the notch.
Gone. Well, it's still there. You just can't see it.
Notched paints a black strip the height of your menu bar into a copy of your wallpaper. The bar goes black, the text goes white, and the notch disappears into the bezel.
Free. Notarized by Apple. Asks for an email, for updates only.
Quietly, on purpose
The notch is fine. It’s just always there.
Right in the middle of your menu bar. In every app. All day.
Notched can’t remove it. It paints the bar around it black, and black is what the notch was all along.
Flip one switch. Then forget it’s installed.
Go on. Flip it.
This is Notched's menu bar window, rebuilt for the browser. Flip the switch, change the corners, hide the icon: this page follows along. Nothing here touches your Mac.
(No external display here. On your Mac, each one gets its own band.)
Set it once. It keeps up.
All
Every display. Every Space.
Each screen gets its own copy at its own resolution. Other Spaces are fixed up when you visit them. Prefer just the laptop? Tick Built-in display only.
14PT
Rounded corners, if you like.
Concave curves under each end of the band, so the desktop reads like a rounded screen. Small, Medium or Large: 10, 14 or 20 points. On by default, at Medium.
Hourly
It shuffles for you.
macOS can't shuffle wallpapers under a black bar, so Notched rotates a folder itself: every 5 minutes, 15, 30, hourly or daily, or right now with Next. A shuffle folder you already set in System Settings is taken over automatically.
2S
Change it. Wait two seconds.
Notched checks your wallpaper every two seconds. Pick a new picture and the bar is redone within about two seconds. Nothing to click.
Off.
Off means off.
Switch Notched off and your own wallpaper comes back. Other Spaces get theirs back the next time you visit them while Notched is running. Your original files are never edited.
Aerial, color and other live wallpapers are drawn by macOS, so Notched leaves them alone and the notch stays put. Pick a photo or a dynamic wallpaper. Placement (fill, fit, stretch or center) stays exactly as you set it.
How it works
It's just a picture.
- 01
Notched makes a copy of your wallpaper. The original file is never touched.
- 02
It bakes a black strip, exactly the height of your menu bar, into the top of the copy.
- 03
It sets the copy as your desktop picture, at each screen's own resolution, placed the way you had it: fill, fit, stretch or center.
- 04
The menu bar goes black, its text goes white, and the notch has nothing left to stand out against.
Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Updates are signed and verified, and never pop a window at you: the menu bar icon just grows a small arrow.
NEW WALLPAPER? REDONE WITHIN ABOUT 2 S
Privacy
No account. No analytics. One request a day.
The app makes one network request: a daily update check against notched.vercel.app. Your original wallpaper files are never modified; copies live in ~/Library/Application Support/Notched. This website has no analytics and no tracking. It asks for an email when you download and uses it only to tell you about Notched updates. It's sent along with your device's platform and the site that linked you here, so the maker can tell where Notched sign-ups come from. Nothing else about you.
Read the source on GitHubFair questions.
How does Notched work?
Notched saves a copy of your wallpaper with a black strip the height of the menu bar and sets the copy as your desktop picture. The menu bar turns black and the notch blends into it. Your original file is never touched.
How do I turn it off?
Flip the switch off and your own wallpaper comes back. If you use several Spaces, each one gets its wallpaper back the next time you visit it while Notched is running.
I hid the menu bar icon. How do I get it back?
Open Notched again from Applications or Spotlight and the icon comes back.
Does it work with dynamic wallpapers?
Yes. Time-of-day and light or dark wallpapers keep all their frames and their schedule, so they keep changing. The first pass takes a few seconds.
What about Aerials and color wallpapers?
Those are drawn live by macOS, so Notched leaves them as they are. Pick a photo or a dynamic wallpaper to hide the notch.
Can it shuffle my wallpapers?
macOS can't shuffle under the black bar, so Notched does it for you: pick a folder and an interval. If you already had a shuffle folder set, Notched takes it over.
Does Notched connect to the internet?
Only to check for updates, once a day. No analytics and no account.
What do I need?
A Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 14 or later. It's built for MacBooks with a notch and works on external displays too.
Is it really free?
Yes. Free and open source under the MIT license. No account.
Why does the download ask for my email?
So the maker can email you when a new version is out. You don't need it to stay current: the app checks for updates itself once a day. Your email is kept in his Google Sheet, used only for Notched updates, and never shared or sold. It's sent along with your device's platform and the site that linked you here, so the maker can tell where Notched sign-ups come from. Nothing else about you. The app itself collects nothing.
Download
Notched
