What Can You Do With Your MacBook Notch?

The notch on a MacBook holds the camera. That is its whole job. The space beside and below it is yours to use, and there are some fun and useful ways to make the most of it.

1. Hide it

If the notch bothers you, some apps paint the menu bar black so the notch blends in. You stop noticing it within a day. It is the simplest fix, and it costs you nothing.

2. Turn it into a music player

Notch apps can show the song you are playing, with album art and controls, right at the top of the screen. It is handy if you skip tracks a lot and do not want another window open.

3. Use it as a file shelf

Some apps let you drop a file onto the notch to park it for later. It is a neat trick when you are moving things between folders or apps.

4. Let it remind you to take care of yourself

Long days at a laptop make it easy to forget water, stretching, and breaks. A notch reminder app is a gentle way to fix that. It peeks out, says something kind, and goes away. There is more on this in our guide to a gentle break reminder app for Mac.

5. Give it a little friend

This is the cute one. PebbletsIO Notch puts a tiny character in your notch. It has eight expressions, from happy to sleepy to a little cheeky. It pops out with check-ins through the day in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese, then tucks back in. Pebby is free, and you can add an idol-style PopStar if you want someone with more sparkle. See the whole cast on the Notch page.

Which should you choose?

If the notch just annoys you, hide it. If you want it useful, go for music or files. If you want it to feel a bit warmer, give it a friend. We rounded up the apps for each in the best Mac notch apps.