Popular Mac app 'Bartender' acquired by new unknown developer
A popular macOS utility called Bartender, which manages crowded menu bar icons and requires powerful permissions like screen recording, has quietly been sold to an unknown company, triggering alarm among privacy‑conscious users. Commenters criticize the lack of transparent communication around the ownership and code-signing certificate change, worry about the app becoming an attack vector, and debate whether open-source models or stronger platform features from Apple would better protect users. Many report uninstalling Bartender and point to alternatives such as open-source tools (Ice, Dozer, Hidden Bar) or other utilities like BetterTouchTool and Parallels Toolbox.
Security & Trust Concerns After Acquisition
- Users are alarmed that a widely used utility with Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions changed owners quietly.
- A macOS prompt for new permissions was triggered by a certificate change, but the official support page framed it as a generic permissions “issue” without mentioning the ownership or cert switch; several commenters call this misleading and uninstall the app.
- Comparisons are drawn to prior “silent takeovers” of browser extensions that later exfiltrated data or injected ads.
- Some argue that for software with deep system access, users reasonably want to know who now controls it and see accountable, identifiable leadership.
- Others respond that, legally, buying a license doesn’t guarantee insight into ownership or strategy, but still agree the communication here was dubious.
Open Source vs Closed Source Debate
- One camp argues this incident illustrates the danger of closed source: incentives can change overnight and users have no recourse.
- Counterpoints:
- Open source is also vulnerable to maintainer changes, social engineering, and backdoors; recent high‑profile incidents are cited.
- The key advantage of OSS is the ability to fork once trust is broken, though damage may already be done before issues are noticed.
- Several examples are given of OSS projects sold or co‑opted, with communities forking to restore trust.
Alternatives, Workarounds & macOS Design
- Multiple alternatives are suggested: Ice, Dozer, Hidden Bar, iBar, menu‑bar/date utilities, and using BetterTouchTool to manage status items.
- Some report Ice and other OSS tools as promising but not yet feature‑complete compared to the original app, especially around smart auto‑unhiding and notch handling.
- There is broad sentiment that Apple should provide robust, built‑in menu bar icon management or at least less invasive APIs so utilities don’t need screen recording.
- More generally, several commenters see this as part of a pattern where macOS power users must assemble a toolkit of third‑party utilities to fix perceived OS shortcomings.
Business & Ecosystem Dynamics
- Developers describe frequent unsolicited acquisition offers from “shady” buyers, viewing popular utilities as attractive attack vectors.
- A tool is shared to detect certificate swaps on macOS apps, reflecting community efforts to monitor such risks.