Learn how to hide or show certain apps and options from the system-wide sharing menu on your Mac to keep the Share menu relevant to you.
The Share menu is available throughout macOS, including Finder, the menu bar, the shortcuts menu, and the toolbar in many apps. However, the more third-party apps and services you install on your Mac, the more the list of Share menu options grows.
Just Control-click or right-click on a file and select Share to see them. If you see too many unnecessary options here or find something missing, follow the step-by-step tutorial below to keep only the sharing extensions you actually need.
Customize the Share menu in macOS
1) Open System Settings on your Mac and go to General > Login Items & Extensions.
2) Scroll down to the Extensions heading and switch to the “By Category” tab.
3) Click the info icon ⓘ next to Sharing.
4) You’ll see a list of any system services, Apple apps, and third-party apps with a Share menu extension. To exclude items from the Share menu, turn off their respective switches and click Done to save the changes.
If your Mac is on a slightly older version of macOS, go to System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, and click the info button ⓘ next to Sharing under the Extensions heading to make it.
If the macOS version is even older, edit the Share menu in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Extensions > Sharing instead.
And in case your old Mac is running a very old version of macOS, go to System Preferences > Extensions > Share Menu and toggle desired apps.
A few things to keep in mind…
- Some Mac apps cannot be deselected, including AirDrop, Mail, and Messages.
- Some enabled extensions may not always show up in the Share menu. For instance, the Add to Photos extension won’t appear if you’ve selected text. Similarly, the Add to Reading List extension won’t appear when sharing photos.
- Third-party apps may have different options. Some third-party apps may not support all the apps and services listed in the Share menu settings.
The Share menu should only list the apps and services you actually use for sharing. But when it starts to get populated with things you don’t need, it can be hard to find what you want. That’s why taking a little time to customize the Share menu goes a long way toward ease of use and making your everyday computing simpler.
Are you going to tidy up the Share menu on your Mac and make it your own? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comments down below!
On the same note: How to customize iOS Share Sheet on iPhone and iPad