How to make apps avoid MacBook Pro camera notch

How to make apps avoid MacBook Pro camera notch

Got an app that doesn’t play well with the MacBook Pro notch? There’s an easy fix.
Photo: Cult of Mac

If one of your favorite applications doesn’t work well with the screen notch in the 2021 MacBook Pro, there is a solution. Apple created a “Scale to fit below built-in camera” setting that always puts the app into the space below the notch when in full-screen mode.

And it can be set for individual apps. Here’s how.

Avoid MacBook Pro notch with ‘Scale to fit below built-in camera’ setting

Don’t be concerned: Apple made activating this setting easy. The only thing even slightly complicated is that — unlike neatly every other settings change — this one can’t be done while the application is running. You have to quit it.

Next, click on the Finder icon in the Dock, then click Applications in the Finder sidebar.

Select the app you want to always appear below the camera notch, then choose File > Get Info. Alternatively, press the key combination Cmd-I.

In the resulting Info window, locate “Scale to fit below built-in camera” and toggle it on.

And there, you’re done. Reopen the relevant application in Full Screen mode and you’ll see that it now appears below the MacBook Pro screen notch. You’ll get black boxes that blend into the camera and the notebook’s screen bezel.

If the setting is missing

If you can’t find this setting, that’s good news. It is for applications that might be incompatible with the notch in the 2021 MacBook Pro because they were released before the notebook and haven’t been updated to take it into account. “If a developer updates their app for compatibility with your Mac, the ‘Scale to fit below built-in camera’ setting no longer appears,” according to Apple.

For more information, consult Apple’s support website.