How to turn off the screenshot preview on a Mac

Screenshots Published 4 November 2026

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The small preview that appears in the corner after a screenshot is called the floating thumbnail. To turn it off, press Shift-Command-5, click Options and click Show Floating Thumbnail to remove its tick. This comes from Apple’s Mac User Guide for macOS 13, 14, 15 and 26, checked on 4 November 2026.

Steps

Press Shift-Command-5.
Click Options.
Click Show Floating Thumbnail so the checkmark disappears.
Take a screenshot to test it.

Apple’s support article says that when no thumbnail appears, the screenshot saves to the desktop. Turn it back on the same way.

What the thumbnail does

When it is on, a thumbnail floats in the bottom right corner for a few seconds. Apple lists these actions:

Swipe right to save the file at once and make the thumbnail disappear.
Drag it into a document, email, note or Finder window.
Click it to mark up a screenshot, trim a recording or share it.

Apple’s support article adds that hovering over the thumbnail keeps it on screen until you act on it or move the pointer away, and that you can drag it to another location before it saves.

A fix without turning it off

If the thumbnail only bothers you because it delays the file, swipe it right. The screenshot is saved immediately. You can also keep it off and open the file from its folder. To find that folder, read where Mac screenshots are saved.

If the preview is missing and you want it

If you do not see the thumbnail, Show Floating Thumbnail may be off. Open Options and check the tick. Captures made with Control held go to the clipboard and also do not need a file. Read screenshot to the clipboard on a Mac.

Why people turn it off

The file may not be in its folder until the thumbnail goes away, so dragging it from Finder right after a capture can fail. Turning the thumbnail off removes that wait. You lose the quick markup and drag actions.

NotchStar’s Screenshot Tray has an optional setting called Show screenshots instantly. It turns off the macOS corner preview so the screenshot reaches the tray at once. It asks first and restores your setting when NotchStar quits. You can do the same by hand with the steps above.

Quick answers.

Does turning off the thumbnail stop screenshots from saving?

No. Apple's support article says that when no thumbnail appears, the screenshot saves to the desktop.

Link to this answer

Keep reading.

Screenshot Tray: your screenshots wait under the notch: 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.
Where Mac screenshots are saved: Mac screenshots made with the keyboard shortcuts are saved to the desktop by default. How the file is named, and how to find one that is not there.
How to screenshot on a Mac: Press Shift, Command and 3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. Steps checked against Apple's guides for macOS 13 to 26.
Share Mac screenshots from the notch without losing the file: 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.

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