How to hide desktop icons and notifications in screenshots

To hide the files on your desktop, open System Settings › Desktop & Dock and untick Show Items On Desktop; tick it again afterwards. To keep notifications out, turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center before you capture. A capture app can do both for you: SimpleShot leaves notifications out of every capture by default, and desktop icons with one switch.

Updated November 2, 2026

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Hide desktop icons before a screenshot

Open System Settings › Desktop & Dock.
Next to Show Items, untick On Desktop. The files stay where they are; they are only hidden.
Take your screenshot or recording, then tick On Desktop again.

Or in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false; killall Finder hides them, and the same with true brings them back.

Keep notifications out of a screenshot or recording

Click Control Center in the menu bar (the two switches).
Click Focus and choose Do Not Disturb.
Capture or record, then turn Do Not Disturb off.

Leave them out automatically with SimpleShot

SimpleShot, a free capture app for Mac, has both in Settings › Capture, under Leave out: Notifications is on from the start, and Desktop icons is one switch. Your desktop isn’t changed: the icons are only left out of the picture, so there is nothing to switch back afterwards. SimpleShot’s own windows, such as the thumbnail or the recording panel, never appear in your captures either.

For a clean window shot, capture the window alone (⇧⌘6 in SimpleShot, or ⇧⌘4 then Space): no desktop, no other windows. And if a name or an e-mail address shows in the capture anyway, Hide Sensitive Data covers what it finds in one click.

Questions

How do I hide desktop icons on a Mac for a screenshot?

Open System Settings › Desktop & Dock and untick Show Items On Desktop. Tick it again when you are done.

How do I stop notifications from showing in a screen recording?

Turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center › Focus before recording. SimpleShot leaves notifications out of recordings by default.

Does hiding desktop icons delete my files?

No. The files stay in the Desktop folder and show in Finder; only their icons on the desktop are hidden.

How do I hide the menu bar or the Dock in a screenshot?

Capture a window or an area instead of the whole screen. To hide the Dock while you work, turn on “Automatically hide and show the Dock” in Desktop & Dock.

Only what you meant
to show.