Zwift rolled out “Hide the Display Mode” in its April 2021 release, allowing Zwifters to hide all on-screen heads up display (HUD) elements for a more immersive and uncluttered viewing experience.
Using the setting is quite easy on any Zwift device. Here’s a quick video showing how to toggle it on and off:
The “H” keyboard shortcut turns your HUD off and on. If you’re on iOS, AppleTV, or Android, though, you’ll need to swipe up from the bottom center of your screen to pull up the game’s actions menu, then click the button that looks like two overlapping boxes.
This same button is also available in the Companion app, so you can use your phone to toggle the HUD off and on if you wish.
“No HUD” Events
Event organizers are holding some “No HUD” events where participants are forced into No HUD mode (see these events on ZwiftHacks).
This offers a new twist on racing for sure! Think about how your racing experience might change if you didn’t have:
- The nearby riders list
- Your own numbers at the top-left
- Overall distance (or distance to go)
- Visible powerups
- The minimap
If you aren’t very knowledgeable about the course you’re racing, the absence of these elements can negatively impact your results, for sure.
Companion to the Rescue
Luckily, we still have the Companion app. Your Zwifting device may be in HUDless mode, but you can still see most of the key info on your phone via Companion, as well as activating powerups. In No HUD races, having Companion running will give you a competitive advantage.
Clean Shots Bonus?
Next-level Zwifters know how to take killer photos in-game. And while it would seem that No HUD mode might help us take better pics, it doesn’t really change anything in its current implementation.
Why? Because PC/Mac users already get two shots saved with each snapshot (a clean one and one with HUD elements). And oddly, iOS and other users will get HUD elements in their shots whether they’re running in No HUD mode or not. (We assume this is a bug. Let us know below if you experience anything different.)
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Can you change your view in a NON HUD Race?
I wasn’t able to on ATV, prevents you from seeing riders behind you. What’s missing from the article is the racing is a lot more cagey. Using the companion app to see riders behind to make your breaks, as you can only see the riders in front of you. Really enjoy the No HUD racing.
Yep I use reverse view as a minimum on ATV to see what is going on. Although no HUD i assume was not designed for racing as it’s easy enough to workaround to see data which then puts you at an advantage over those running completely no hud.
It’s a bit frustrating no gradient in companion. It’s an obvious omission? Hope they bring this to companion!
This is the biggest gap for me, I like no HUD mode as it feels a lot more like riding outside with the companion app acting like my head unit. Outside I know what the gradient is because I can see it, indoors it’s hard to judge on just sight alone, and going on leg feel can be hard as it’s often too late.
Here’s a link to the No HUD events: https://zwifthacks.com/app/events/?key=61055ad6b66d1
IMO the companion app shouldn’t be available in NOHUD races. I rarely used it, until a number of popular NOHUD races included power-ups. NOHUD in its current form (with the companion app and ZP live) i isn’t what it could be.
makes sense that they would want the companion app do be not allowed during races but how would the enforce it
when will they make the “shows ride on visually” on/off toggle, it is the most annoying thing… and with off setting the fps could be higher…
is there a way to display two POV’s? i usually ride with the riders’s pov “on” and i would LOVE to have a rear POV as part of the HUD for racing. Is this possible?
I’m experiencing a bug. Google search shows there was a page with the bug/support question on the zwift forums but the page has been removed. Names of riders behind me in No HUD are visible.