diff --git a/src/gui/MainWindow.cpp b/src/gui/MainWindow.cpp
index 94cdf2124..9a06ac893 100644
--- a/src/gui/MainWindow.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/MainWindow.cpp
@@ -599,6 +599,11 @@ void MainWindow::lockDatabasesAfterInactivity()
 
 bool MainWindow::isTrayIconEnabled() const
 {
+#ifdef Q_OS_MAC
+    // systray not useful on OS X
+    return false;
+#else
     return config()->get("GUI/ShowTrayIcon").toBool()
             && QSystemTrayIcon::isSystemTrayAvailable();
+#endif
 }
diff --git a/src/gui/SettingsWidget.cpp b/src/gui/SettingsWidget.cpp
index e774ed21a..8b536a53d 100644
--- a/src/gui/SettingsWidget.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/SettingsWidget.cpp
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ SettingsWidget::SettingsWidget(QWidget* parent)
 
     m_generalUi->autoTypeShortcutWidget->setVisible(autoType()->isAvailable());
     m_generalUi->autoTypeShortcutLabel->setVisible(autoType()->isAvailable());
+#ifdef Q_OS_MAC
+    // systray not useful on OS X
+    m_generalUi->systrayShowCheckBox->setVisible(false);
+    m_generalUi->systrayMinimizeToTrayCheckBox->setVisible(false);
+#endif
 
     connect(this, SIGNAL(accepted()), SLOT(saveSettings()));
     connect(this, SIGNAL(rejected()), SLOT(reject()));