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How to hide or replace the volume and brightness pop-up on a Mac

By Ege Mert Balçık · Last updated 3 November 2026 · Disclosure: I make Ledge, one of the apps compared

Short answer: macOS 26 Tahoe has no setting for it, so you need an app that catches the volume and brightness keys and draws its own indicator. That takes Accessibility permission; without it you get both pop-ups. volumeHUD (free) brings back the classic volume HUD. Notch apps put the level in or beside the notch: boring.notch, Atoll and Ledge are free, Alcove, Droppy, NotchNook and MediaMate are paid. Hudlum adds a larger volume indicator and leaves the macOS one in place.

What macOS 26 shows by default

On Tahoe, pressing a volume or brightness key shows the level in a small panel in the top-right corner of the screen. It replaced the large square that earlier versions of macOS drew. Apple's Mac User Guide covers the keys themselves, the Sound slider in Control Center or the menu bar and the Brightness slider in System Settings > Displays. It does not describe the pop-up or any setting that turns it off. The closest built-in option is to keep Sound in the menu bar (System Settings > Menu Bar) and drag its slider instead of pressing keys.

Atoll's developers found in their 2.3.3 testing that on macOS 26 the volume pop-up is drawn by Control Center rather than by the old OSDUIHelper process. That matters because older replacement apps hid the system HUD by pausing OSDUIHelper. What works on Tahoe is catching the key press before macOS sees it and changing the volume or brightness in the app itself. That needs the Accessibility permission (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility). An app without it can still notice the level change and draw its own indicator; macOS just draws its pop-up as well.

Apps that replace or restyle it

AppWhat it drawsHides the macOS pop-upPricemacOS
volumeHUDThe classic volume HUD, or a glass version in 4.0; brightness on built-in displays, off by defaultYes, with Accessibility. Without it both appearFree, MIT26+
HudlumA larger volume indicator at the bottom centre of the screenNo, it "appears in addition to macOS's own volume indicator"US$5, also on the Mac App Store26+
SlimHUDSlim, customisable bars for volume, brightness and keyboard backlight at a screen edgeBy pausing OSDUIHelper, the method Atoll found no longer hides the Tahoe volume pop-upFree, GPL-3.0Not stated
MediaMateCompact volume, brightness and keyboard-brightness HUDs in several styles, one of them at the notch; any Mac"The default, old-style macOS HUDs are replaced"€6.99 (Gumroad)13+
boring.notchVolume, display brightness and keyboard brightness in the notchYes, "Replace system HUD"; its settings say Accessibility is requiredFree, GPL-3.014+
AtollVolume and brightness HUDs in the notch; keyboard backlight in 2.3.3 pre-releases2.3.3 pre-release notes describe suppressing it by intercepting the keys; Accessibility is in its permission listFree, GPL-3.014+
Alcove"Customizable HUDs" in the notchIts changelog describes blocking the native volume HUD and a HUD that relies on Accessibility permissionUS$12.9915+
DroppyVolume, brightness and keyboard backlight as a slim bar beside the notch; also on notchless displaysIts site says it "replaces the macOS volume, brightness and keyboard backlight HUDs"; asks for Accessibility and Screen RecordingUS$9.9914+
NotchNookLists a "Volume & Brightness HUD" among its featuresNot stated on its siteUS$15 (Classic) or US$19 (Pro) lifetime; or monthly14.6+
LedgeVolume and display brightness in the notch; hover the readout and the bar becomes a sliderYes, with Accessibility. Without it you see both, stackedFree, GPL-3.026+

volumeHUD's README notes that without Accessibility its HUD also stays hidden when you press past 0% or 100%. SlimHUD's latest release, 1.5.3, is from July 2025, before macOS 26 shipped. Homebrew disabled its cask on 1 September 2026 because the download fails the Gatekeeper check.

How Ledge does it

Ledge shows the level as a readout in the notch. Hover it and the bar turns into a slider you can drag. Once you grant Accessibility from Ledge's Settings, "Hide the macOS volume and brightness readout" is on by default and Ledge applies the key presses itself. A press it cannot apply is passed through untouched. Quitting Ledge gives the keys back to macOS. The keyboard backlight keys always go to macOS, so they still bring up the system pop-up. Ledge only draws on a MacBook's built-in notched display, so with the lid closed on an external monitor it leaves the keys to macOS. It needs macOS 26 or later.

Which to choose

FAQ

Can I turn off the volume pop-up in macOS Tahoe?

Not from System Settings. Apple documents no switch for it. An app that intercepts the volume and brightness keys can hide it. That needs Accessibility permission.

Is there a free app that brings back the old volume HUD?

Yes. volumeHUD is free and open source (MIT), runs on macOS 26 and brings back the classic volume HUD, with brightness as an option. With Accessibility granted it also hides the Tahoe pop-up.

Can the MacBook notch show volume and brightness instead?

Yes, with a notch app. boring.notch, Atoll, Alcove, Droppy, MediaMate and Ledge draw their own volume and brightness indicator at the notch. boring.notch, Alcove and Ledge say they need Accessibility permission to replace the macOS pop-up.

Why do I see two volume pop-ups?

Usually the app that draws the second one has no Accessibility permission, so it can watch the level change but cannot stop macOS from drawing its own. Turn the app on in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, then quit and reopen it if it asks. Hudlum always appears alongside the macOS pop-up by design.

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