You can also use Ice[1], which does the same thing and is open source

[1] https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice

Looks like the features are very similar. Is there anything the commercial product does that the open source doesn't?

I've used both, and I think Bartender was a little more polished, UI wise.

This was after I stopped using Bartender, but it got silently sold to a third party https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/04/bartender-mac-app-new-o...

Alternative: install it anyway, and block all connections with Little Snitch.

(note that Bartender is also part of SetApp...)

Ice is great. Took some fiddling but I have been stoked on it.

I would be very careful with using Bartender now. It was a great app, but recently bought by a shady company known for buying apps to milk them for money and user data. I recommend Ice, as linked by Khaine, which is open source, free, and works like a charme.

Thanks, I'm totally gonna try that!