Question 1

What does transom do, in one sentence?

Accepted Answer

It keeps your Mac's menu bar tidy: you choose which icons stay in view, the rest are tucked away, and you get them back with a click, a hover, a shortcut or by typing their name.

Question 2

Some of my menu bar icons vanished behind the notch. Will transom bring them back?

Accepted Answer

Yes, that's one of the main reasons it exists. When a MacBook's menu bar has more icons than fit, macOS puts some behind the notch, where you can't see or click them. transom spots those, shows a small badge, and offers to move them into its panel, where one click opens each one's menu.

Question 3

Does it work on macOS 27?

Accepted Answer

macOS 27 changed how the menu bar works; we're testing transom on it now and will confirm here. Until then we only promise what we've tested: macOS 14 Sonoma or later, tested on macOS 26. If you buy it and it doesn't work on your Mac, you get your money back.

Question 4

Which Macs and versions of macOS does it run on?

Accepted Answer

macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs, with or without a notch. Tested on macOS 26.

Question 5

Why does transom need Accessibility?

Accepted Answer

Accessibility is the macOS permission that lets an app see the other icons in the menu bar, open their menus and move them when you ask. That's all transom uses it for. It doesn't read your screen, your typing or your files, and nothing is recorded or sent.

Question 6

What is Screen Recording for, and do I have to allow it?

Accepted Answer

You don't have to. It's only used to show a small picture of each hidden icon in the transom panel. Without it, the panel shows the app's own icon and name instead, and everything else works the same. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent.

Question 7

Will transom move my icons around on its own?

Accepted Answer

No. Nothing moves without you. transom hides icons by placing its own marker in the menu bar, and it only rearranges other apps' icons when you drag them in its Settings.

Question 8

What happens if I quit transom?

Accepted Answer

Every hidden icon comes back into the menu bar, exactly as it was before. And at any time, “Show everything” in transom's menu puts every icon back in view with one click.

Question 9

Does it work with more than one display?

Accepted Answer

Yes. macOS shows the same menu bar icons on each display, and transom's hiding applies to all of them. Profiles let you keep a different layout for each set of displays, such as “Desk” with an external display and “Laptop” on its own, and transom switches when you plug in or unplug.

Question 10

My old menu bar app stopped working after an update. Can I switch to transom?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Quit the old app first, so two apps aren't trying to arrange the same icons, then set up transom: it takes about a minute and starts by suggesting what to hide. If your old app had icons hidden, quitting it usually brings them back first.

Question 11

Can I move my licence to a new Mac?

Accepted Answer

Yes. One licence works on 2 Macs at a time. Deactivate it in transom's Settings on the old Mac, then activate the same key on the new one.

Question 12

How much is it?

Accepted Answer

$9.99 once at launch, until 25 November 2026, 18:30 UTC, then $14.99. One licence works on 2 Macs, with no subscription and no account. There's no free trial: if transom doesn't work on your Mac and we can't fix it, you get a refund within 7 days.

Question 13

Can I control it from the Shortcuts app?

Accepted Answer

Yes. transom adds Shortcuts actions to show hidden icons, hide them and switch profile, and it understands transom:// links (show, hide, search, reset and profile/<name>), so a Focus automation can change your layout.

Question 14

Does transom collect any data?

Accepted Answer

No. There's no account, no analytics and no tracking. The only time it goes online is to activate and check your licence. Your layouts and settings stay on your Mac.

Question 15

Where can I get it?

Accepted Answer

Only from tealmac.com/transom. Apps from the Mac App Store can't read or move other apps' menu bar icons, so transom is sold and downloaded directly.

Terms

Who you buy from

Price

Buy, then download

Your licence

How transom works with your menu bar

Warranty and liability

Changes