Bartender Permissions

Screen Recording

Bartender needs a Screen Recording permission, this is needed because Bartender reads your menu bar items so it can show the correct image for each item. The only area Bartender reads is the menu bar. Please be assured Bartender does not record your screen in any way.

When you first use Bartender on macOS you will be prompted to allow Bartender in Screen Recording settings - you will need to do this to use Bartender.

Purple Menu Bar Item

When Bartender is reading the menu bar, macOS can show a purple menu bar item to indicate an app is reading the screen. This is a macOS feature; this cannot be hidden or disabled.

Accessibility

Bartender needs Accessibility permissions to move your menu bar items, this is needed so Bartender can arrange items in the menu bar.

Having Trouble?

If you are having issues with permissions, please check our troubleshooting page.

You can also email us at support@macbartender.com.