SBAppStatusBarManager is a singleton class (not available prior to iOS 7) that manages the status bar. You can access the singleton instance using the following method:
+ (id)sharedInstance
Modification
The following nonstandard method can be used to hide the status bar.
- (void)hideStatusBar;
The following nonstandard method can be used to show the status bar.
- (void)showStatusBar;
The following nonstandard method can be used to modify the opacity of the status bar.
- (void)setStatusBarAlpha:(float)alpha;
However, it should be noted that all changes made to the status bar are temporary, and are reverted to defaults when an app is opened.