On Facebook Messenger, you’ll be able to see whether someone is offline or online.
However, the person’s activity status needs to be enabled.
Similar to WhatsApp, you’re given the ability to disable your activity status on Facebook Messenger.
If the person’s activity status is disabled, they will always remain offline.
In other words, you won’t be able to tell whether they are active or not.
If you want to appear offline on Facebook Messenger, read on to find out how.
- How to appear offline on Facebook Messenger
- Can you appear offline on Messenger but still see messages?
- How do I hide myself on Facebook Messenger?
How to appear offline on Facebook Messenger
To appear offline on Facebook Messenger, first tap on your profile picture.
Then, navigate to “Active Status” and turn off the “Show when you’re active” option.
After you’ve turned off the “Show when you’re active” option, your active status will no longer be shown.
Before turning off the “Show when you’re active” option, your Facebook friends will be able to see a green dot on your profile picture.
If you turned it off, the green dot will no longer be visible on your profile.
However, keep in mind that you won’t be able to see your friends’ activity status as well.
If you want to see your friends’ activity status, you have to enable the “Show when you’re active” option.
That being said, below is a step-by-step guide on how you can appear offline on Facebook messenger by turning off your active status.
Step 1: Tap on your profile picture
Open Facebook Messenger and tap on your profile picture on the top navigation bar.
The first step is to tap on your profile picture on the Messenger app.
To begin with, open the Messenger app on your mobile device.
You can also use Messenger on a desktop, but the user interface will be a little different.
The screenshots in this guide are taken on the mobile version of Messenger, and not the desktop version.
Hence, it’s better to use the Messenger app rather than the desktop version of it when following this guide.
Once you’ve opened Messenger, you’ll land on your chats.
Next, tap on your profile picture on the top navigation bar.
If you’re using Messenger on a desktop, tap on the three dots next to your profile picture instead.
This will open a navigation menu with several options.
Proceed to the next step to learn how to navigate to the active status setting.
Step 2: Tap on “Active Status”
Tap on the “Active Status” option.
On the navigation menu, you’ll see multiple options including “Dark mode”, “Switch account”, “Active Status”, and more.
“Dark mode” allows you to switch the appearance of the app to a dark theme.
“Switch account” allows you to switch between Facebook accounts.
Lastly, you can turn on or turn off your activity status via the “Active Status” option.
Tap on the “Active Status” option to go to the active status setting.
This option will allow you to appear offline on Facebook if you disable it.
If you’re using Messenger on a desktop, tapping on the three dots will open a different navigation menu.
On that navigation menu, click on “Preferences” to open your preferences.
Then, tap on “Turn Off Active Status” to go to the active status setting.
Proceed to the last step to learn how to turn off your active status to appear offline on Messenger.
Step 3: Turn off the “Show when you’re active” option
Active Status > Show when you’re active > Switch off.
After you’ve tapped on the “Active Status” option, you’ll land on the “Active Status” setting.
On the setting, you’ll see a “Show when you’re active” option.
The “Show when you’re active” option is enabled by default.
If the option is enabled, your friends and contacts will be able to see when you’re active.
On the other hand, if the option is disabled, your friends and contacts will not be able to see when you’re active.
Turn off the “Show when you’re active” option by tapping on the switch.
After you’ve tapped on the switch, there’ll be a pop-up message confirming whether you want to turn off your Active Status.
Tap on “Turn off” to turn off your Active Status.
Once your Active Status is turned off, you will appear offline to your friends and contacts on Facebook Messenger.
However, you won’t be able to see your friends’ or contacts’ Active Status.
This setting is similar to hiding your “Last Seen” status on WhatsApp.
You’ve successfully learned how to appear offline on Facebook Messenger!
Can you appear offline on Messenger but still see messages?
Yes, you can appear offline on Messenger but still see messages.
Appearing offline on Messenger will hide your Active Status from your friends and contacts on Facebook.
In other words, they won’t be able to see that you’re online.
However, you will still be able to see messages that people send you.
In addition, you will still be able to see your existing chats.
How do I hide myself on Facebook Messenger?
To hide yourself on Facebook messenger, you need to turn off your Active Status.
After you’ve turned off your Active Status, your contacts and friends will not be able to see that you’re online.
However, you won’t be able to see whether they are online as well.
Typically, whenever you’re online on Facebook, a green dot will appear on your profile picture.
Now that you’ve turned off your Active Status, the green dot will not be shown on your profile picture even if you’re online on Facebook Messenger.
Conclusion
Appearing offline on Facebook Messenger is a great way to mitigate stalkers.
It also prevents someone from thinking that you’re deliberately ignoring their messages.
If you typically take a long time to reply to someone’s messages, appearing offline is ideal.
The only setback is that you won’t be able to see your contacts’ and friends’ Active Status.
Further Reading
How to Send Files on Messenger
How to Change Your Profile Picture on Messenger
What Does “Other Viewers” Mean on Facebook Story?
Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
