How to Hide the Desktop Icons on macOS Big Sur

Do you want to have a clean and clutter-free desktop on your Mac? Well, there’re some people who are quite smart when it comes to managing the desktop icons while others can’t. There’s no doubt the desktop is playing a significant role in managing apps and folders. So, in this guide, you are going to learn how to hide the desktop icons on macOS Big Sur.

Why Is It Necessary to Hide The Desktop Icons?

You can need to briefly delete an icon from your Mac’s desktop. You may be preparing to make a presentation or merely want to take a snapshot without being interrupted. Moving icons into other files will take much too much time in both cases. Especially after you’ve figured out how to quickly cover icons on a Mac.

How to Hide Desktop Icons on macOS Big Sur

There are many ways to hide the desktop icons on macOS Big Sur. You can either the Terminal commands or ever using third-party apps. Meanwhile, here we will show you 3 different ways to clear the desktop on Mac.

Method 1. Hide Desktop Icons using Terminal Commands

The first and easy step to hide the desktop icons on Mac running on macOS Big Sur or earlier versions is to use the Terminal. You’re already aware that Terminal is one of your Mac’s most powerful applications. In reality, Terminal commands can be used to monitor any part of your Mac.

Note: Remember that the “F” in “Finder” must be capitalized; otherwise, the terminal would merely say that no matching processes were identified.

• Launch Terminal from Applications > Utilities or open the Spotlight and then search for Terminal.
• Now, type the following command and press enter:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false 

• After that, use the following command in the Terminal to restart Finder:

killall Finder

Once you’re done, the desktop icon will be hidden.

However, if you want to unhide the desktop icons then follow the below commands:

• Type the following command and press enter:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true 

• Restart Finder with the following command:

killall Finder

Method 2. Hide Desktop Icons on macOS Big Sur with 1 Click

Performing the above-mentioned commands isn’t a daunting task but if you regularly hide the desktop icons then we recommend using a third-party app called “HiddenMe.” HiddenMe is a very basic program that can hide any of the things on your Mac’s screen with either a keyboard shortcut or a mouse press. It cannot, however, erase the existing wallpaper, which in certain situations may have been beneficial.

• Go to App Store & install the HiddenMe app.
• Once installed, launch the app.
• Now, click the HiddenMe icon on the menu bar and select Hide Desktop Icons.
• To unhide desktop icons later, you can simply click on the HiddenMe icon in the menu bar, and click on Show Desktop Icons.

Show Desktop Icons

Method 3. How to Remove Icons from Desktop Mac Finder

You may also use Finder preferences to hide desktop icons if you don’t want to get into the weeds of Terminal and want an easier approach. This will not hide all icons; only those that are associated with external computers and appear automatically will be hidden: hard drives, external disks, CDs, DVDs, iPods, and connected servers.

• Click Finder on the top right-hand corner and select Preferences.

Preferences

• On the General tab, uncheck all the boxes and you are good to go.

That’s it. This is how you can hide the desktop icons on a Mac running on macOS Big Sur or earlier versions. You will guarantee that no one can catch you off balance and make you feel embarrassed about your digital hygiene practices by following either of the aforementioned ways. You can now clutter your desktop to your best ability and tidy it up with a few keystrokes when the time comes.

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