How to turn off 'Active Now' green dot status on Facebook

While it helps us get updated with current news and stay connected with friends and family, there’s no denying that Facebook has become toxic over the years. But that doesn’t mean that people have stopped using it.

Sometimes, we just want to use Facebook in peace, without anyone trying to contact us and message us. There are also times when we don’t want anyone — a colleague, schoolmate, etc. — to know that we’re online, especially on our day offs or while on vacation.

If that’s what you want, then you might want to turn off the Active Now status on your Facebook account. That’s the green dot next to your name that your friends see every time you’re online.

Disabling the Active Now status is fairly easy to do whether you’re on a desktop computer, Android, or iOS device. Let’s show you how.

Related

How to disable Active Status green dot on Facebook Messenger

Turning off the Active Status on Facebook Messenger means that your friends will never see if you’re currently online and how long you’ve been offline. However, this also means that you won’t see if your friends are active or not.

Using computer

Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account on your computer’s web browser. On the top left, click the Messenger icon and the three-dotted menu button.

Step 2: Click Active Status.

Step 3: Under Active Status, tap the toggle to turn it off. Alternatively, you can also choose to appear active or inactive only to select people. Once done, click Save.

Using Android

Step 1: Open the Facebook Messenger app and tap the menu icon on the top left.

Step 2: Click the settings icon.

Step 3: Tap Active Status.

Step 4: Hit the toggle beside “Show When You’re Active,” so you can disable it.

Using iOS devices

Step 1: Open the Messenger app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the menu icon on the top left.

Step 2: Click the settings icon on top.

Step 3: Tap Active Status.

Step 4: Click the toggle next to Show When You’re Active to disable and turn it off.

How to disable Active Status on Facebook

If you want to browse on your Facebook app without appearing online on Facebook Messenger, you can follow the steps below. Doing so means that you’d continue to appear offline when you’re on the main Facebook app, until you open the dedicated Messenger app.

On Android

Step 1: Open and sign in to your Facebook app. Tap on the Menu button at the top right corner.

Step 2: Under Settings & Privacy, tap Settings.

Step 3: Under Audience and Visibility, click Active Status.

Step 4: Hit the toggle under Show When You’re Active to disable it.

On iOS

Step 1: Open and sign in to your Facebook app. Tap on the Menu button at the bottom right corner.

Step 2: Under Settings & Privacy, click Settings.

Step 3: Under Audience and Visibility, hit Active Status.

Step 4: Click the toggle under Show When You’re Active to disable it.

These are the ways you can turn off the Active Status on your Facebook and Messenger app whether you’re on a desktop, Android, or iOS app. Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.