Stop your Mac cursor growing when you shake the mouse

Why it happens

Your Mac makes the pointer big for a moment when you wiggle the mouse or trackpad quickly, so you can spot it on a large or busy screen. It's on by default. If you move the mouse fast as part of normal work or games, it can kick in when you don't want it.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Accessibility in the sidebar.

2. Click Display. On macOS 26, look in the Pointer section. On macOS 27, the switch is listed on the Display page.

   macOS 26 Tahoe Accessibility›Display›Pointer

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Accessibility›Display

3. Turn off Shake mouse pointer to locate.

   macOS 26 Tahoe Accessibility›Display›Pointer›Shake mouse pointer to locate

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Accessibility›Display›Shake mouse pointer to locate

4. Shake the mouse or swipe quickly on the trackpad. The pointer should stay its normal size.

On macOS 26 the switch is in the Pointer part of Accessibility > Display. On macOS 27 it sits directly in Accessibility > Display.

Still not fixed?

1. If the pointer is big all the time, not just when you shake it, drag the Pointer size slider in the same Display page back to the left.

   Accessibility›Display›Pointer size

2. If the whole screen zooms in instead, that's Zoom, a different feature. Open Accessibility, then Zoom, and check which zoom options are on.

   Accessibility›Zoom

3. On a work or school Mac, the setting may be locked. Ask whoever manages your Mac.

4. If the pointer still grows after you've turned the switch off and restarted, contact Apple Support.