# How long screenshots stay in the NotchStar tray > The NotchStar Screenshot Tray holds the latest 12 screenshots and keeps each unused one for five minutes. Using a screenshot removes it sooner. Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-long-screenshots-stay-in-the-notch-tray/ Last updated: 2026-11-04 Published 2026-11-04. An unused screenshot stays in the NotchStar Screenshot Tray for five minutes, and the tray holds the latest 12 at a time. A screenshot also leaves as soon as you use it, by dragging it somewhere or copying it. These limits are on purpose: the tray is a short stop on the way to a chat or an email, not a gallery. ## The two limits - **Five minutes.** The clock starts when the screenshot reaches the tray. NotchStar checks about every 10 seconds, so a screenshot may linger a few seconds past the mark. - **12 screenshots.** When a thirteenth arrives, the oldest one drops off the strip. It does not go to the Trash. ## What else removes a screenshot - Dragging it onto a chat, an email, a folder or the Shelf and dropping it. - Choosing Copy from its right click menu. - Hovering over it and clicking the small x, or choosing Remove from notch. - Moving or deleting the file in Finder. NotchStar notices the file is gone and removes the thumbnail. If you start a drag and let go over nothing, the screenshot flies back and stays. ## Does it survive quitting NotchStar NotchStar keeps a small list of the screenshot file paths and times, so a relaunch within five minutes still shows the same screenshots. Older ones are dropped on launch. ## Where the file is afterwards Leaving the tray does not delete the picture. Read [what happens to the file](https://www.notchstar.com/help/what-happens-to-the-file-when-a-screenshot-leaves-the-tray/). The full feature is on the [Screenshot Tray page](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/). ## Quick answers. ### Can I make the tray keep screenshots longer? Not today. The five minute and 12 screenshot limits are fixed in the app. ### Is a screenshot lost when it leaves the tray? No. The file stays where macOS saved it. ## Keep reading. - [Screenshot Tray: your screenshots wait under the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/): Every screenshot lands in a tray under your Mac notch. Drag it into a chat, an email or a folder, or send several at once. - [What happens to a screenshot file when it leaves the NotchStar tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/what-happens-to-the-file-when-a-screenshot-leaves-the-tray/): Leaving the NotchStar tray never touches the screenshot file. It stays where macOS saved it, except when you drop it on the Trash or on a Finder folder. - [How screenshots reach the NotchStar Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-screenshots-reach-the-notch-tray/): NotchStar watches the folder where macOS saves screenshots and hangs each new one under the notch. Here is what counts, what does not, and how fast. - [Share Mac screenshots from the notch without losing the file](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/share-screenshots-from-mac-notch/): Capture a screenshot, find its saved file and send it from the Mac notch. Understand tray expiry, multiple selections and what happens to the original. ## More in Screenshot Tray. - [How screenshots reach the NotchStar Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-screenshots-reach-the-notch-tray/): NotchStar watches the folder where macOS saves screenshots and hangs each new one under the notch. Here is what counts, what does not, and how fast. - [Drag a screenshot from the notch into a chat or email](https://www.notchstar.com/help/drag-a-screenshot-into-a-chat-or-email/): Press on a screenshot in the NotchStar tray, move a few points and drop it into a chat or an email. The app receives a copy of the file. - [Drag a screenshot from the notch into a folder](https://www.notchstar.com/help/drag-a-screenshot-from-the-notch-into-a-folder/): Drop a NotchStar tray screenshot on a Finder folder to put the file there. Finder decides whether it moves or copies, and the tray entry goes away. - [Send several screenshots at once from the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/help/send-several-screenshots-at-once/): Take a few screenshots, pick the ones you want and drag them into a chat together. NotchStar carries all picked files in one drag. - [Pick several screenshots in the notch with Command click](https://www.notchstar.com/help/pick-several-screenshots-with-command-click/): Hold Command and click screenshots in the NotchStar tray to pick them. A drag from any picked one then carries all of them. - [Option drag sends every screenshot in the notch tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/option-drag-sends-every-screenshot-in-the-tray/): Hold Option while you start dragging a screenshot from the NotchStar tray and every screenshot in the tray goes, whether picked or not.