In Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.6 multiplayer, the Locator Bar points toward other players in your world. Its colored markers show direction, while an arrow can show that a player is above or below you. You can hide your own marker by crouching, wearing a mob head or carved pumpkin, or using Invisibility. A host or operator can disable the bar for the world with the locatorBar game rule. These are the rules described in the official Java 1.21.6 release notes.
What do the markers mean?
The bar appears in the area normally used by the experience bar when another player is present and visible to it. Gaining experience brings the experience bar back into view; with no other players in the world, the experience bar displays normally. A colored marker indicates another player within a 120-degree arc in front of you. Turn toward a player and their marker can come into view; turn away and it may leave that arc. An up or down arrow accompanies a marker when that player is above or below the screen, and the marker’s icon size changes with distance. These are directional cues, not a numbered distance or a map pin. Marker colors are assigned per player, while a team’s color can replace a player’s default color. Source: Java 1.21.6, “Locator Bar”.
For example, a colored marker with an up arrow tells you to look in that direction and consider higher ground. It does not tell you the player’s exact coordinates or how many blocks away they are. If a friend’s marker disappears, that alone does not establish that they left the world: they may be outside your forward view or using one of the hiding methods below.
How do I hide my marker?
To stop appearing on other players’ Locator Bars under the Java 1.21.6 rules, crouch, wear a mob head or carved pumpkin, or use a Potion of Invisibility. These affect whether you appear as a marker; they are not a switch for every player’s bar. Players in Spectator Mode are hidden from the bar of other players, although spectators can see one another. Source: Java 1.21.6, “Locator Bar”.
Hiding a bar marker is not a general promise of privacy or invisibility in play. The release notes describe the Locator Bar, and a server with modified behavior may differ. If you are joining someone else’s world, check the server version and rules before joining.
How can a host turn the Locator Bar off?
For a Java Edition 1.21.6 host or operator who wants the bar disabled for the world, set the game rule to false with /gamerule locatorBar false. The rule is true by default; Mojang says changing it to false removes existing waypoints from all players. This is a world or server control, not a command an ordinary joining player can assume they may use. Source: Java 1.21.6, “Locator Bar” and “Game Rules / Added locatorBar”.
