Recently, two widely discussed posts have decried the proliferation of icons in MacOS 26 (Tahoe) menus. First, Jim Nielsen wrote a post in December that referenced Apple’s old Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) advice against using confusing symbols in menus. Next, Nikita Prokopov provided example after infuriating example of just how poorly implemented these icons are…

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MacOS 26 (Tahoe) introduced widespread menu icons that are poorly implemented, creating visual clutter and inconsistency. The icons are too small, monochrome, and applied haphazardly across third-party apps without developer control. Rogue Amoeba found a way to remove these forced icons from their applications, restoring clean menus similar to previous MacOS versions. They encourage other developers to do the same to avoid perpetuating Apple's problematic design decision.

Under the Microscope » Blog Archive » Removing Tahoe’s Unwanted Menu Icons