# How to Hide Desktop Icons for a Screenshot on Mac

> To hide desktop icons on a Mac for a screenshot, click the Snapix menu bar icon and choose Hide Desktop Icons, or turn off On Desktop in Desktop & Dock.

Published: 2026-10-22
Author: Elisei Nicolae
Source: https://snapix.app/tutorials/hide-desktop-icons-screenshot-mac/

---

To hide desktop icons on a Mac for a screenshot, click the [Snapix](/) icon in the menu bar and choose **Hide Desktop Icons**. A picture of your bare wallpaper covers the icons and widgets on every display, and choosing **Show Desktop Icons** brings them back. Without an app, you can turn desktop items off in **System Settings ▸ Desktop & Dock**.

## How to hide desktop icons with Snapix

1. **Click the Snapix icon in the menu bar.** The Snapix menu opens under it.
2. **Choose Hide Desktop Icons.** Snapix covers the icons and widgets on every display with a picture of your bare wallpaper. Your app windows stay above it, right where they were.
3. **Take your screenshot or start sharing.** Press <kbd>⇧⌘3</kbd> for the display under the pointer or <kbd>⇧⌘4</kbd> to drag over an area (Snapix's default shortcuts). Snapix's screenshots leave the icons out, and screen shares, recordings and other apps' screenshots see the clean wallpaper too.
4. **Choose Show Desktop Icons when you're done.** While the icons are hidden, the same row in the menu reads **Show Desktop Icons**. Quitting Snapix brings them back as well.

<figure>
  <picture>
    <source
      media="(max-width: 600px)"
      srcset="/images/tutorials/hide-desktop-icons-screenshot-mac-menu-narrow.webp"
      width="716"
      height="996"
    />
    <img
      src="/images/tutorials/hide-desktop-icons-screenshot-mac-menu.webp"
      width="1288"
      height="904"
      loading="lazy"
      decoding="async"
      alt="The Snapix menu open from the menu bar over a desktop with folders, a PDF and screenshot files, with the pointer on Hide Desktop Icons, the row after Recent Captures. A note beside it shows the same row reading Show Desktop Icons with an eye icon once the icons are hidden"
    />
  </picture>
  <figcaption>Hide Desktop Icons sits just below Recent Captures in the Snapix menu.</figcaption>
</figure>

**Tip:** Hide Desktop Icons has no shortcut out of the box. Record one in Snapix **Settings ▸ Shortcuts** (see [how to change the screenshot shortcut](/tutorials/change-screenshot-shortcut-mac/)) and the same keys will show the icons again.

## Keep desktop icons out of every screenshot

If you'd rather leave your desktop as it is and only keep the clutter out of the pictures, Snapix has a setting for that.

1. Choose **Settings…** in the Snapix menu and click **Capture**.
2. Under **While capturing**, find **Hide desktop icons and notifications**.
3. Pick one of the three choices:

- **Never.** The default: screenshots show your desktop as it is.
- **Hidden from the result.** You still see your icons while you take the shot, but the picture shows the wallpaper where they were.
- **While I select, too.** The icons and widgets fade away as soon as the crosshair appears for an area shot (and during a self-timer countdown), then come back after the shot.

<figure>
  <picture>
    <source
      media="(max-width: 600px)"
      srcset="/images/tutorials/hide-desktop-icons-screenshot-mac-setting-narrow.webp"
      width="716"
      height="612"
    />
    <img
      src="/images/tutorials/hide-desktop-icons-screenshot-mac-setting.webp"
      width="1288"
      height="1032"
      loading="lazy"
      decoding="async"
      alt="Snapix Settings, Capture page, While capturing section, with the Hide desktop icons and notifications pop-up open below the Freeze the screen while I select switch: three choices, Never (checked), Hidden from the result and While I select, too, each with a one-line description"
    />
  </picture>
  <figcaption>The setting sits in Settings ▸ Capture, under While capturing. Never is the default.</figcaption>
</figure>

Both of the other choices also leave out notification banners, even one that pops up just as you take the shot. It works for area, full-screen, last-area and self-timer shots. A window capture holds only the window, so there's nothing to hide, and **Extract Text** reads the screen as you see it. The same section has **Include mouse cursor**, covered in [how to screenshot with the cursor](/tutorials/screenshot-with-cursor-mac/).

**Note:** Notification Center's panel shares a window with the banners, so it's left out too while this setting is on. To screenshot Notification Center itself, set it back to **Never** first.

## Screen sharing or screenshots: which one to use

| What changes | Menu switch | Settings option |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hides | Icons and widgets | Icons, widgets and banners |
| Your screen | Clean until you show the icons | As it is, or clean while you select |
| Screen shares | Clean wallpaper | Same as your screen |
| After you quit Snapix | Icons come back | Remembered for next time |

Use the menu switch (**Hide Desktop Icons**) for screen sharing, presentations and a batch of screenshots. Use the Settings option if you want every screenshot clean without touching your desktop.

## How to hide desktop icons on Mac without an app

macOS can hide desktop items too, from System Settings.

1. On recent versions of macOS, choose **Apple menu ▸ System Settings**, then click **Desktop & Dock** in the sidebar.
2. In the **Desktop & Stage Manager** section, next to **Show items**, turn off **On Desktop**.
3. To hide widgets as well (macOS Sonoma and later), turn off **On Desktop** next to **Show Widgets**.

If you use Stage Manager, also turn off **In Stage Manager** in both rows.

The macOS setting is a good choice if you want a tidy desktop all the time. Your files stay in the Desktop folder in Finder. For a single screenshot it means two trips into System Settings, one to hide the icons and one to bring them back.

## Good to know

- **Every display.** The wallpaper picture goes over the desktop of each connected display. A display showing an app in full screen has no desktop to cover, so it stays as it is.
- **Clicks still work.** A click where a hidden icon sits counts as a click on the wallpaper, so anything macOS does when you click the wallpaper still happens. You can't drop files onto hidden icons.
- **Grayed out?** Snapix needs you signed in and needs Screen Recording permission before it can hide the icons. If the row is gray, see [what to do when screenshots aren't working](/tutorials/screenshot-not-working-mac/). Hide Desktop Icons keeps working after the free trial ends, and **Show Desktop Icons** is never grayed out.

For every other way to capture your screen, see [how to take a screenshot on a Mac](/tutorials/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/), or [try Snapix free](#get-snapix).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a way to hide desktop icons on Mac?

Yes. On recent versions of macOS, open **System Settings ▸ Desktop & Dock** and turn off **On Desktop** next to **Show items** (and next to **Show Widgets** for widgets). For a quick screenshot, Snapix is faster: click its menu bar icon, choose **Hide Desktop Icons**, then choose **Show Desktop Icons** to bring them back.

### How do I hide desktop icons when screen sharing on a Mac?

Choose **Hide Desktop Icons** in the Snapix menu before you start sharing. Snapix lays a picture of your bare wallpaper over the icons and widgets, and screen shares and recordings show that clean wallpaper too. The Settings option **Hide desktop icons and notifications** is different: it only cleans up Snapix's own screenshots.

### Is there a shortcut to hide desktop icons on Mac?

Not out of the box. Snapix's **Hide Desktop Icons** starts with no shortcut, but you can record one in Snapix **Settings ▸ Shortcuts**: click **None** next to **Hide Desktop Icons** and press the keys you want. The same keys show the icons again.

### Does hiding desktop icons move or delete my files?

No. Snapix only lays a picture of your bare wallpaper over the desktop, so your files and folders stay in the Desktop folder, right where they were, and you can still open them from Finder. Turning off **On Desktop** in **Desktop & Dock** doesn't move them either.