I am wondering this, too. I love Bartender and until it is proven to be sketchy, can't I use Little Snitch to block all outgoing access?
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PSA: Bartender Mac App Under New Ownership, But Lack of Transparency Raises Concerns
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My thoughts exactly!
I think over-hyped paranoia is fuelling something which isn't there. The developer has sold the app to another company and yes, it's a perfectly normal process to this involving a certificate change (quote: "expected and valid"). There are no new permissions being requested, to claim so is just bad journalism.
Imagine the amount of apps that change ownership ever year, without clear background information on the seller and/or intentions....and no one even realizes.
One of the comments here explain how to download one of the prior versions before the app was sold off, and then you can turn off Auto Updates and then use an App like LittleSnitch to block network traffic.
You basically copy the Download Link and change the version number in the URL before downloading.
You basically copy the Download Link and change the version number in the URL before downloading.
There ARE new (same) permissions being requested, though. You have to re-grant all of this access again. That in and of itself is something that should throw people off.
I made no accusations myself. I just pointed out what i considered important.Hi nick, you might want to read this before you write such accusations yourself
TL;DR:
"Ben Surtees has sold Bartender to a dubious company called "App Sub 1 LLC" who first used their own signature to sign Bartender but because that raised too much suspicion they now founded a new company called 'Bartender App LLC' or maybe just got a certificate under that name. they refuse to give any information about the takeover and what exactly has happened"
Sure, the addendum arrived after the article was written, which underscores my post.
And no its not my work to do research the source behind article.
The article should have included the basic facts behind the s is just basic journali integrity. But i am confident its not known to bloggers.
Moreover the company behinde had an other name than listed on redit post in the link, as you can see in the screenshot in post #101.
It has always required that, but then after the changes in the app after all of this, it required you to provide these permissions again, under a new app cert. It's one thing to trust a single person developer who's maintained the app with sweat & tears for MANY years, but another entirely when that one dev is now a vague "company" of people that say they are "working closely with Ben" to understand his Vision? I mean, it's an app that does something very well. What kind of vision do you need other than how to monetize off of it? I'm glad Ben got to cash out (I'm assuming), but no one wants to just blindly provide screen recording permissions for an app some vague company has.
They probably wouldn’t discuss it. But they almost certainly wouldn’t make new company names to sign certificates with
Yeah, kind of surprising how they haven't Sherlocked it already to make this functionality built into macOS
Only time will tell if they do
+1 to the Hide Menu Bar Icons app in Parallels Toolbox. Parallels is a trusted developer. This app is simpler than Bartender, but I was able to make it work for my needs.BTW, for those who might have Parallels Toolbox, there is also its Hide Menu Icons tool: rather basic, but seems to work well (and now also has a Bartender Bar-like additional option). Let’s hope that the new Bartender devs will make clear who they are and what they want to do, anyway…
How to Control the Icons in the Mac Menu Bar Using Parallels Toolbox
Learn how the Hide Menu icons tool in Parallels® Toolbox can help you manage the icons and hide the ones that you don’t need all that often.www.parallels.com
(… Hmmm: still seems buggy, as it didn’t remember the exact order of the hidden menu bar items upon reboot.)
Au revoir!
Honestly became a bit redundant once they finally allowed a bit more customization of the MenuBar
I think I first used Bartender so I could hide the Spotlight icon way back when
Now it's all moot, as I run an OLED and have the MenuBar hidden by default
That’s a good question, Germany has a little more transparency when it comes to corporate filings than some other jurisdictions, and from my (non-exhaustive) brief search, it appears to be the same developers and owners for roughly the last 20 years. And, for what it’s worth, they’ve also pretty much kept the same (intangible) look and feel of their website and software, making it more likely they’re still the same people. If I get more time (and if I remember) I might look a little deeper.
Little Snitch (or Micro Snitch) are owned and operated by Objective Development Software GmbH.
obdev.at
They've always been VERY open about things on Social Media. I'm almost positive they're NOT selling. Although anything can happen, right?
Objective Development — Network Monitoring & Productivity Software for macOS
Discover powerful applications such as Little Snitch Mini, Little Snitch, LaunchBar and Micro Snitch.
obdev.at
They've always been VERY open about things on Social Media. I'm almost positive they're NOT selling. Although anything can happen, right?
I've never been a Bartender user but even I know it as a trusted, quality app, with a strong user base. I'm always a little leery to give screen recording permission to apps, but the ones I do, I trust for good reason.
I tried Hidden Bar and it doesn't solve the problem that Bartender does. When I expand the hidden portion, it extends into the notch area. I need the expansion to be below the notch so that nothing is lost. If I already had room for all the menubar icons, then I wouldn't have had any need to collapse them.
According to reddit rumor these guys are the new owners:
Whatever their business model may be...
I'm guessing it starts with "sub" and ends with "scription"
VC backed, so I assume Bartender will become awful
I'd recommend folks flock to alternatives
Yeah sure, devs would be totally honest to tell users exactly how each one is for which without any hidden nefarious intentions. Apps developed would work exactly as users expected. Nothing shady in the background. /s
Incredible to link company ownership exchange with “shady apps” and “sketchy sites”. Maybe, just maybe, read the article to educate yourself a bit?
I just switched to Ice and it does the job. I'm using an external monitor 99% of the time so I don't have to worry about the second row / notch functionality. Hoping Ice will add that in a future update.
Will the last version still be good though? Assuming it can last several years.
🤷♂️
I'd start looking at alternatives and just move over and not have to worry about it