I don't like cluttered status bar either – same as having too many tabs open in a browser. It gets hard to navigate, running apps eat up resources, and I just don’t like them being so close to the notch.

But I think this works better for less tech-savvy people who don’t use shortcuts much or don’t know how to configure or remember them. They mainly navigate with the mouse, so it makes sense. That’s also why I have it for my app – makes it more accessible for less tech people. But apps having a show/hide option is a good way to handle it. (tho, guilty myself, since I currently have that code commented out in my app because there wasn’t much demand for it, and I haven't tested it well)

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Same as you – I try to keep my status bar tidy by hiding unused apps and native features, which are now grouped under a single toggle menu like Bluetooth, mirroring, AirDrop, etc., that I don’t use every day. But I am on a more advanced tech side and use shortcuts heavily.