How to Turn Off Active Status on Facebook and Messenger
Menu, Settings & privacy, Settings, Active Status, then switch off Show when you're active. Do it in Messenger too, or people may still see you online there.
To turn off active status on Facebook, tap Menu, go to Settings & privacy, then Settings, tap Active Status and switch off Show when you're active. Then do the same in Messenger. Facebook's help center warns that if you turn it off in one app only, "people may still be able to see your status on Messenger."
We read Facebook's help center as Google showed it on October 23, 2026. Facebook's pages refuse our reader, so its words are quoted from Google's view of them.
"How to turn off active status on facebook" gets about 12,100 searches a month, and "facebook active status" another 5,400.
How do you turn off active status on Facebook?
Facebook's help center gives these steps:
- "Tap Menu in the top right of Facebook."
- "Scroll down and tap Settings & privacy."
- "Tap Settings."
- "Tap Active Status."
- Switch off Show when you're active.
How do you turn it off in Messenger?
Messenger has its own switch. Facebook's help center lists the steps there:
- "Tap Menu, then tap Settings."
- "Tap Active status."
- Turn off the toggle next to Show when you're active.
| Where you turn it off | Who can still see you active |
|---|---|
| Facebook and Messenger | Nobody |
| Facebook only | People on Messenger |
Facebook's help center, as Google showed it on October 23, 2026.
That's the trap most people hit. "If you turn off active status for your Facebook app but not for your Messenger app, people may still be able to see your status on Messenger," Facebook says.
What does active status show?
"Your Facebook friends and messaging contacts can see your Active Status," Facebook's help center says. "A green dot shows when you're active." When you're not, they may see how recently you were. "How to appear offline on facebook" gets about 3,600 searches a month, and turning off active status is how you do it.
Will you still see when friends are active?
The sources don't agree. An October 2025 YouTube guide shows Facebook's notice that with Active Status off, you "won't be able to see when your friends and contacts are active." But a Reddit user wrote in January 2026 that with it off on both apps, "I still see other people's active status." So check your own app after you switch it off.
More Facebook privacy guides
Our guides to making Facebook private, blocking someone on Facebook and who views your Facebook profile cover the rest. On Instagram, see turning off active status on Instagram. Hclout's free tier gives 20 free Facebook likes on a public post, with no password, on the free page. A short Cloudflare check runs before each claim.
Frequently asked questions
How do I appear offline on Facebook?
Turn off Show when you're active in Facebook's Active Status settings, and in Messenger too.
Does turning off active status on Facebook turn it off on Messenger?
Not always. Facebook says people may still see your status on Messenger if you only turn it off on Facebook.
What does the green dot mean on Facebook?
It shows that someone is active right now, Facebook's help center says.
Can people see when I was last active?
If your Active Status is on and you're not active, they may see how recently you were.
Sources
- Facebook Help Center pages on turning Active Status on or off in Facebook and Messenger, what Active Status shows, and turning it off in one app, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
- A YouTube guide of October 23, 2025, and Reddit r/facebook (January 28, 2026), as Google showed them
- Google Ads Keyword Planner, worldwide, read October 23, 2026, and Google US results, October 23, 2026
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