What is Vanilla?
Vanilla hides the menu bar icons you choose behind a small divider, so the ones you actually watch are easier to find. The free app does that and nothing more, and it has been around long enough to be a default recommendation in the Mac press. Vanilla Pro is a one-time $10 upgrade that adds a keyboard shortcut for toggling the menu bar and desktop icons, a Completely Removed section for icons that should only be visible when the preferences window is open, auto-hide five seconds after you toggle, and start-at-login. A single licence code can be activated up to ten times, so one purchase covers all your Macs. The app is closed source and is not on the Mac App Store; it is downloaded from the developer's own site.
Verified product facts
- Type
- menu bar managerEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Apple Silicon
- Yes
- Pricing
- FreemiumDeveloper-stated
- Price
- USD 10Developer-stated
- Developer
- Matthew PalmerDeveloper-stated
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Current version
- 3.0Developer-stated
- Official website
- matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What Vanilla does at a glance.
Hides the menu bar icons you choose behind a divider, toggled by clicking its arrows
Vanilla Pro adds a customisable keyboard shortcut to toggle the menu bar and desktop icons
Vanilla Pro adds a Completely Removed section for icons that are only visible while the preferences window is open
Vanilla Pro adds auto-hide, which hides the icons five seconds after you toggle them
Vanilla Pro adds start-at-login so the app is running from the moment you sign in
A single Pro licence code can be activated up to ten times, covering multiple Macs
What you can use Vanilla for
- Reducing a menu bar with more icons than fit before they start disappearing behind the notch
- Keeping status icons available without leaving them on screen all the time
- Toggling the whole menu bar and desktop icons from a keyboard shortcut while presenting or recording
- Hiding an icon so completely that it only appears when you open Vanilla's preferences
Who is Vanilla for?
- Mac users who want a free, long-established menu bar hider with no setup
- People who want to pay once for a Pro upgrade rather than subscribe
- Anyone who prefers to buy directly from the developer rather than through the App Store
Who is Vanilla not for?
- Users on macOS 12.3 or earlier, since version 3.0 declares a minimum of macOS 12.4
- Anyone who wants rule-based or automatic hiding — Vanilla hides the group you place behind the divider
- People who require open-source software, since Vanilla is closed source
Limitations
- Requires macOS 12.4 or later; the developer's support page documents the app as running on macOS Catalina and above but version 3.0 declares a higher floor
- Vanilla Pro is a separate purchase: keyboard shortcuts, auto-hide, start-at-login and the Completely Removed section are not in the free app
- Closed source, and not distributed through the Mac App Store, so there is no App Store purchase history or refund route
- On macOS 12.4 and later, Apple's dynamic date setting in the menu bar can leave a gap around Vanilla's arrow until the Show Date option is changed from When space allows to Always or Never
- The in-app update feed still carries old build-numbered entries alongside the newer version numbers, so the release history reads in two different schemes
Strengths and trade-offs
What Vanilla does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- The app itself is free, and the Pro upgrade is a one-time $10 rather than a subscription.
- One licence code activates up to ten times, so a single purchase covers every Mac you own.
- Ships as a universal build, so it runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs alike.
- The Pro tier's Completely Removed section hides icons so thoroughly that they only appear while the preferences window is open.
- Has been recommended by The Verge, Business Insider and OS X Daily, and is written by the developer of Rocket and Horo.
Trade-offs
- The features most people want — keyboard shortcuts, auto-hide and start-at-login — are behind the Pro purchase.
- Version 3.0 requires macOS 12.4, so older Macs are out of support.
- Closed source and not on the Mac App Store, so purchases, refunds and installs all run through the developer's own site.
- Apple's dynamic date setting on macOS 12.4 and later can leave a visible gap around the divider until the Show Date option is changed.Developer-stated
First-use experience
What the app asks of you when you set it up. Only established facts appear here; anything we could not confirm is left out rather than guessed at.
- Installation
- Download the disk image from matthewpalmer.net/vanilla, open it and drag Vanilla into Applications. The current release is 3.0, build 82.
- First launch Developer-stated
- Vanilla asks for Screen Recording permission on first launch and shows a setup prompt; the app takes screenshots of the menu bar area to blend it with the hidden icons, and the developer states those screenshots are neither saved nor transmitted.
- System integration Developer-stated
- Adds a divider with arrows to the menu bar, and can start at login on the Pro tier. Accessibility permission is only needed if the app gets stuck on its permissions screen and the entries have to be removed and re-added.
- Apple Silicon
- Supported
What it does
Vanilla puts a small divider in the menu bar. Icons to the left of it are hidden when you collapse the bar and shown when you expand it, toggled by clicking the arrows on the divider itself. That is the free app: one divider, one toggle, no configuration beyond which icons you place on which side.
The Pro tier fills in the conveniences. A customisable keyboard shortcut toggles the menu bar and desktop icons — the developer notes using it constantly. A Completely Removed section hides icons so thoroughly that they only appear while Vanilla’s preferences window is open. Auto-hide hides the icons five seconds after you toggle them. Start-at-login makes sure the app is running from sign-in. It is a one-time $10 rather than a subscription, each activation code works up to ten times, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Where it sits among the alternatives
Vanilla is the oldest of the menu bar hiders Nuanyue lists and the one with the most press coverage — The Verge, Business Insider and OS X Daily have all recommended it, and it is written by the developer of Rocket and Horo. It is also the only one of the group that is both closed source and paid, which is the trade-off: Hidden Bar, Dozer and Ice are all free and open source, and Bartender is the paid one with a full rule engine.
What Vanilla does not have is automation. It hides the group you place behind its divider; it does not decide what should be visible based on rules, schedules or which app is in front. If that is what you need, Bartender is the tool, and if you want it free, Ice comes closest.
Permissions and quirks
Vanilla needs Screen Recording permission to do its job. It takes screenshots of the menu bar area to blend the bar with the icons it is hiding, and the developer states those screenshots are neither saved nor transmitted anywhere. If the app gets stuck on its permissions screen, the documented fix is to remove both the Accessibility and Screen Recording entries and add them again.
There is one macOS-side quirk worth knowing. From macOS 12.4, Apple added a dynamic date setting that shows or hides the clock’s date based on available space, which throws off Vanilla’s spacing and leaves a gap around the divider. The documented fix is to change Show Date from When space allows to Always or Never.
Distribution
Vanilla is not on the Mac App Store. It is downloaded from the developer’s own site, and the app’s update feed points at the same server. Version 3.0, build 82, is the current release and requires macOS 12.4; it is a universal build, so it runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Purchases, licence retrieval and refunds all run through the developer rather than through Apple, which is worth knowing if you would rather have the App Store’s purchase history behind you.
Release history
Dated releases recorded for Vanilla, newest first, each with the source it was read from.
3.0
Current release, published to the developer's update feed as build 82 and declared compatible with macOS 12.4 and later.
Source: Official website
2.2
Release preceding 3.0; the update feed also raises the floor to macOS 12.4 at this point.
Source: Official website
2.1.1
Maintenance release following 2.1, with a minimum of macOS 12.0.
Source: Official website
Questions about Vanilla
Is Vanilla free?
Yes. The app is free to download and use. Vanilla Pro is a one-time $10 purchase that adds keyboard shortcuts, the Completely Removed icons section, auto-hide and start-at-login.
Is Vanilla Pro a subscription?
No. The developer describes it as a one-time purchase, and each licence activation code can be used up to ten times so it covers all your Macs. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Which macOS version does Vanilla need?
Version 3.0 declares a minimum of macOS 12.4. The developer's support page describes the app as running on macOS Catalina and above, which reflects earlier versions rather than the current release.
Why is there a gap around Vanilla's arrow?
On macOS 12.4 and later, Apple added a dynamic date setting to the menu bar. The developer's fix is to open System Settings, go to Control Centre or Dock and Menu Bar, find Clock in the Menu Bar and change Show Date from When space allows to Always or Never.Developer-stated
Is Vanilla open source?
No. Vanilla is closed-source software distributed by its developer, and it is not sold through the Mac App Store.
Does Vanilla hide icons automatically?
Not by default. It hides the icons you place behind its divider and toggles them when you click. Auto-hide, which hides them five seconds after you toggle, is part of Vanilla Pro.
Alternatives to Vanilla
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
Hidden Bar
Free, open-source utility that hides macOS menu bar icons.
Both hide menu bar icons behind a divider arrow, but Hidden Bar is free and open source under the MIT licence while Vanilla is closed source with a paid Pro tier.
Dozer
Free open-source utility that hides macOS menu bar icons.
Both hide a chosen group of menu bar icons and neither applies rules, but Dozer uses two or three dots and has not been released since 2020.
Competitors
Direct competitors: overlapping features aimed at the same users.
Ice
Menu bar manager for hiding icons and organizing layouts.
Both declutter the menu bar with a divider, but Ice is free and open source and adds arrangement, profiles and appearance controls.
Bartender
Menu bar manager with hiding, triggers and a second bar.
Both manage menu bar icons, but Bartender decides visibility with rules and a full customisation layer while Vanilla only hides the group you place behind its divider.
Links
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
- Vanilla — official websiteGrade B
- Matthew Palmer — developer websiteGrade B
- Vanilla — documentationGrade C
