After upgrading to macOS Tahoe, I’m running into two related but separate UI problems and I’m trying to understand whether there is any workaround or third-party solution.
1) Menu bar text color
Tahoe forces white menu bar text/icons based on wallpaper brightness. I want the menu bar text to be black, not white, while keeping the menu bar translucent and essentially invisible.
Is there any way (or third-party app) to force black menu bar text while keeping a fully translucent menu bar?
2) Desktop file name text
Tahoe now renders desktop file/folder names in white, which are very hard to read against my wallpaper. I want those labels to be black, as they were previously.
Menu Bar Tint (which I understand previously helped with the menu bar issue) no longer appears to be available, so I’m looking for current options.
Any insight into whether these behaviors are now hard-locked in Tahoe — or if there’s a workaround — would be appreciated.
1) Menu bar text color
Tahoe forces white menu bar text/icons based on wallpaper brightness. I want the menu bar text to be black, not white, while keeping the menu bar translucent and essentially invisible.
- I do not want to enable Increase Contrast — it adds a solid white bar at the top, hides part of my custom wallpaper, and outlines UI elements in black, which I dislike.
- Reduce Transparency has the same issue: it creates a visible white bar and obscures my wallpaper.
- Before upgrading to Tahoe, I used a custom photo wallpaper and simply lightened the top portion of the image in Canva; macOS then rendered the menu bar text in black. That same approach no longer works in Tahoe.
- I do not want to switch Light/Dark Mode or use Apple-only wallpapers.
Is there any way (or third-party app) to force black menu bar text while keeping a fully translucent menu bar?
2) Desktop file name text
Tahoe now renders desktop file/folder names in white, which are very hard to read against my wallpaper. I want those labels to be black, as they were previously.
- I don’t want to be forced to change my wallpaper to accommodate the text.
- Is there any third-party utility or workaround to control desktop icon label color?
Menu Bar Tint (which I understand previously helped with the menu bar issue) no longer appears to be available, so I’m looking for current options.
Any insight into whether these behaviors are now hard-locked in Tahoe — or if there’s a workaround — would be appreciated.