Facebook and Messenger show our online status to friends by a green dot. Sometimes we browse Facebook or log into our Messenger account only to check messages. People usually tend to send you messages when they see you active. Just because we’re online, we must not be obliged to respond to a Facebook post or a Messenger message. To save ourselves from such situations and maintain privacy, we can hide or turn off the active status on Facebook and Messenger apps for Android and iOS.
Our Facebook friends and sometimes unknown people send us messages on Messenger. They expect a prompt response especially when they see that green dot showing us active. In such cases, the best option is to disable or turn off the active status on Facebook and Messenger apps, and below, we’ll see how to do that. Similarly, you can also disable the video autoplay feature in the Facebook app.
Tip: Please note that once you have disabled active status, you won’t see whether your Facebook friends and contacts are active just as they can’t know when you are active.
Turning off Active Status on Facebook
To disable the active status in the Facebook app for Android and iOS, follow the steps below.
- Open the Facebook app on your phone.
- Tap the hamburger icon at the top-right corner of the screen to open the Facebook app menu.
- Now tap Settings and Privacy> Settings.
- Then tap the Active status option in the Settings & Privacy menu.
- Doing so will take you to a page with the Show when you are active option. Just tap the toggle next to this option.
- A pop-up will ask if you want to Turn off Active Status. Just tap the Turn Off option.
That’s it! You have successfully turned off Active Status on the Facebook app. Let’s see how we can disable the same for the Messenger app. In case you want to use bold, italic, underlined, or cursive text on Facebook or Messenger, don’t miss our guide.
Disabling Active Status in Messenger
Steps for the Messenger app for Android
The steps to turn off your active status on the Messenger app from Facebook are even simpler.
- Open Messenger and tap your profile picture icon.
- You’ll be taken to Messenger’s Settings page.
- Look for Active Status in the profile settings and tap it.
- On the next screen, you see an option called Show when you’re active with a toggle button.
- Just tap the toggle and you’ll be greeted with a pop-up asking if you want to turn off the active status on Messenger.
- Tap the Turn Off option and you are all done.
Steps for the Messenger Web
In case you want to remove the active status in the Messenger Web, follow the instructions below.
- Visit Messenger Web using any web browser on your computer. Sign in to your Facebook account if you need to.
- Click the cogwheel icon to open the Messenger app menu and click on Settings.
- Just like in the mobile app, you’ll see Show when you’re active option under Active Status.
- Click the toggle button and it will turn from green to gray.
We just saw how to turn off Active Status on Facebook and Messenger for Android and the web. Your friends and contacts on Facebook should not see your online status. If you still notice that disabling the Facebook active status feature is not working or Facebook’s active status keeps turning on, here’s the fix.
Read Next: How to Manage Facebook Media and Contacts Settings
