Facebook: 5 Ways to Appear Offline (to Some People or Everyone)

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How to make your status invisible on Facebook
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This wikiHow guide teaches you how to prevent certain friends on Facebook from seeing that you're online on the Facebook app, the Messenger app, and the Facebook website. Note: Whether you do these methods on the website or in an app, your changes will be reflected across the entirety of Facebook (so you don't have to change your status on your phone and your computer).

Appearing Offline on Facebook

To only appear offline to certain people, you can restrict them in the Messenger app or on the Facebook website. If you want to appear offline to everyone, you can turn your activity status off in the Facebook app, Messenger app, or Facebook website.

Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Appear Offline to Some People (Messenger App)

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  1. 1
    Open the Facebook Messenger app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. If you want to keep certain people from seeing your active status, you can restrict them. Restricting the user will keep them from seeing your active status, as well as from seeing when you've read messages. Their chat will also be removed from your messages list, and you won't get notifications when they've sent you something. [1]
  2. 2
    Tap on the user you want to restrict. You can do this from your list of conversations, or you can search for the user using the search bar at the top of the screen.
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  3. 3
    Tap on the user's name at the top of the screen. This will open a menu.
  4. 4
    Scroll down and tap Restrict . Then, tap Restrict [Name] to confirm your choice. Repeat these steps for each person you want to restrict.
    • To unrestrict a user, open your Facebook Messenger menu and tap Settings > Privacy & safety > Restricted accounts . Tap on the account and choose to unrestrict them from this menu.
      • You can alternatively add new users to restrict from this menu as well by tapping the Add button.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

Appear Offline to Some People (Computer):

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  1. 1
    Go to facebook.com . If you aren't already signed in, do so now. Much like on mobile, you can restrict users on Facebook so they can't see when you're online, but without blocking them.
  2. 2
    Click on the Messenger icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. It looks like a speech bubble with a lightning bolt or zigzag icon inside of it. It's between the bell icon and the icon with nine squares.
  3. 3
    Click on the user you want to restrict. You can do this by clicking on their conversation or searching their name in the search bar that says "Search Messenger."
  4. 4
    Click on the user's name at the top of the chat box that pops up. This will open a menu.
  5. 5
    Scroll down and click Restrict . Then, click Restrict [Name] to confirm your choice. Repeat these steps for each person you want to restrict.
    • To unrestrict a user, click on your profile picture, then click on Settings & privacy > Settings . Click Blocking under "Audience and visibility," then click Edit next to "Restricted list."
      • You can alternatively add new users to restrict from this menu as well by clicking the Add to restricted list button.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

Appear Offline to Everyone (Messenger)

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  1. 1
    Open Facebook Messenger on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. This app's icon has a blue speech bubble with a lightning bolt inside.
  2. 2
    Tap the three horizontal line button in the bottom-right corner. This will open up the menu.
  3. 3
    Tap Settings . It's near the top of the menu, right under your name and the button that says "Switch profile."
  4. 4
    Tap Active status and toggle off your active status. If you see the word "Off" next to Active status , your active status is already off. To turn your active status back on, go back into this menu and re-enable it. [2]
    • If you're using the Facebook Messenger app, you can't stop individual users from seeing if you're online or offline. You'll have to turn your active status off for everyone.
    • This will turn off your active status in the Facebook app and Messenger app.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

Appear Offline to Everyone (Facebook App)

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  1. 1
    Open the Facebook app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. The app's icon is blue with a white "f" on it.
  2. 2
    Tap the three horizontal line button in the bottom-right corner. This will open up the menu.
  3. 3
    Tap Settings & Privacy > Settings . This will open your Facebook app settings.
  4. 4
    Tap Active Status . It's under the "Audience and visibility" header.
  5. 5
    Toggle off your active status. If you see the word "Off" next to Active Status , your active status is already off. To turn your active status back on, go back into this menu and re-enable it.
    • If you're using the Facebook app, you can't stop individual users from seeing if you're online or offline. You'll have to turn your active status off for everyone.
    • This will turn off your active status in the Facebook app and Messenger app.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Appear Offline to Everyone (Computer)

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  1. 1
    Go to facebook.com . If you're not already signed in, do so now. You can appear offline to everyone by disabling your active status on Facebook's website.
  2. 2
    Click on the Messenger icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. It looks like a speech bubble with a lightning bolt or zigzag icon inside of it. It's between the bell icon and the icon with nine squares.
  3. 3
    Click the three horizontal dots icon ••• . It's in the upper-right corner of the Messenger dropdown.
  4. 4
    Click Active Status . If you see that the button says Active Status: OFF , you have already turned off your active status.
  5. 5
    Toggle off your active status. This will make you appear offline on Facebook to everyone until you turn it back on. You can still use Facebook and Messenger without appearing online. [3]
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Does this still work today?
    Community Answer
    None of those solutions work simply because you may appear offline, but it shows that you were online 1 minute ago, which gives everyone the hint that you are online but "hiding".
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 28 Helpful 133
  • Question
    How does it say someone was active 42 minutes ago when I know they're online right now?
    Community Answer
    Facebook will use their last sent message as their last active time if they are not active with the chat turned on.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 8 Helpful 25
  • Question
    How does it say someone was active 42 minutes ago when I know they're online right now?
    Community Answer
    They are using mobile Facebook to turn off their availability.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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      • Your "Last Online" tag, which shows the last time you were online, will display the time at which you turned off chat for your contacts.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/1021314848608781
      2. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/215888465102253?cms_platform=iphone-app&helpref=platform_switcher
      3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/help/215888465102253?cms_platform=www&helpref=platform_switcher

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open Messenger.
      2. Tap People .
      3. Tap a friend.
      4. Tap the person's name.
      5. Tap Block .
      6. Slide "Block Messages" to the On position.
      7. Repeat this step for all you want to hide.

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