How to Appear As Away on Facebook

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: April 5, 2019

Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with your friends and loved ones. However, it could be annoying to be bombarded with chats and messages at times when you are either too busy with work, or when you just are not in the mood to communicate. Fortunately, Facebook offers you convenient options to appear as “away”, when you are actually online.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:
Appearing As Away on Facebook

1
Login to your Facebook account.
2
Click the “Chat” button. You will find this button on the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.
- Clicking on “Chat” will bring up an expanded window. This will reveal a chat panel, displaying some of your Facebook friends.
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3
Click on the “Options” icon. You will find this gear-shaped icon on the top right-hand side of your chat box.
4
Turn off chat. Select “Turn Off Chat”, if you wish to appear offline to all of your Facebook contacts.
- In case you wish to appear online again, select “Turn On Chat”.
5
Adjust chat settings. You will be presented with 3 options to choose from.
- Turn off chat with all friends. Once you choose this option, you will appear offline for all your friends on Facebook.
- Turn off chat for some friends. Once you choose this option, you will appear as away to those selected friends.
- Turn on chat for a few friends. Choosing “Turn off chat for all friends except….”, will allow you to decide which of your friends can see you online.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:
Appearing As Away on the Facebook Messenger App

1
Open your Facebook Messenger app. On your mobile device, tap your Facebook Messenger app.
2
Select your address book. Tap the list icon on the menu at the top of your screen. This will let you view your address book.
3
Tap on the “Active” tab. You will find this at the top of your screen.
4
Appear inactive. You will find a switch next to your profile image and name. Toggle it to the “Off” position.
- To appear active again, toggle the switch back to the “On” position.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:
Turning Off Facebook Chat on Android

1
Open your Facebook app.
2
Tap the Menu button.
3
Scroll down to “App Settings”. You will find this under “Help and Settings”.
4
Scroll down to “Facebook chat”.
5
Appear inactive. You will find a switch next to the “Facebook chat” tab. Toggle it to the “Off” position.

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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:
Turning Off Facebook Chat on iOS

1
Open your Facebook app.
2
Tap on the settings icon. You will find this on the top right-hand side of the chat friends list.
3
Select “Go Offline”.
- Note that the chat sidebar is displayed on the iPad, only when it is held in landscape mode.
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Warnings

If you add friends to more than one list, they will be able to see you online if any one of the lists they belong to is marked as "Appear Online."

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When you appear offline on Facebook, you will not be able to see which of your friends are online, either.

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