How do I remove the "now playing" section from the Control Center in the menu bar.

I am running Monterey 12.0.1. In the "now playing" section (which I think is worthless) in the drop down of the Control Center, I cannot clear the title of the last video played in Safari this morning. I just now noticed this when I was looking to activate screen mirroring. I went into System preferences in order to disable it in Dock and Menu Bar, unchecked the option on the side menu, but the title of the video was still visible. The only way I was able to clear it was to clear the cache of Safari - in which case I lose my browsing history - not the most efficient way to do this. After it cleared, my Music icon player took over when I was not even using it. Why is this even necessary? These features (sound, airplay, brightness etc) are in three different places: the menu bar, the control center and the touch bar. Four places if you have Music open; the controls are there as well. I would really love to be able to disable the individual control center options but I cannot seem to. Is there a more elegant (simple) solution to clearing the play history under the Sound section?

MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Dec 2, 2021 1:35 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 3, 2021 11:49 AM

Hey there, Broman5,


Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities. If we understand, the Now Playing shortcut in Control Center continues to display the last thing you played in Safari, even after you've stopped playing. We're happy to help!


While the Now Playing shortcut cannot be removed from Control Center, it should clear your last played content. This may not happen until you have closed the tab or window the media was playing in, but it should not stay there indefinitely. If you cannot get the content removed from Now Playing this way, we'd suggest seeing if the issue persists while in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac and if so, a new user: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support.


If the issue continues after this, don't hesitate to respond back.


Enjoy your weekend!

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 3, 2021 11:49 AM in response to Broman5

Hey there, Broman5,


Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities. If we understand, the Now Playing shortcut in Control Center continues to display the last thing you played in Safari, even after you've stopped playing. We're happy to help!


While the Now Playing shortcut cannot be removed from Control Center, it should clear your last played content. This may not happen until you have closed the tab or window the media was playing in, but it should not stay there indefinitely. If you cannot get the content removed from Now Playing this way, we'd suggest seeing if the issue persists while in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac and if so, a new user: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support.


If the issue continues after this, don't hesitate to respond back.


Enjoy your weekend!

Dec 3, 2021 2:57 PM in response to Broman5

Thanks for getting back in touch, Broman5,


The default setting for the Now Playing shortcut in Control Center is to display "Music.app", so what your screenshot shows is expected.


If you continue to have trouble with the Now Playing shortcut displaying media that is no longer being played, we encourage you to use safe mode and a new user as previously indicated to continue troubleshooting, if you have not already.


If the issue persists after that, please get in touch with Apple Support directly. You can do that here: Get Support.


Best!

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How do I remove the "now playing" section from the Control Center in the menu bar.

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