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To stop other people from seeing when you are active or recently active, switch off Active Status in Messenger and then check every other place you use Facebook or Messenger, because the setting does not always apply everywhere at once. The clearest documented route is for Messenger on a phone: Chats, then your profile picture, then Active Status, then switch it off and confirm. The guide that describes this was published in July 2020, so menu labels and icon positions may have changed since then.
Turn off Active Status in Messenger on a phone
The route below comes from a July 13, 2020 step-by-step guide by India Today Web Desk, which describes the same steps for Android and iOS. Apps are updated often, so if a label is missing, look for the Active Status entry inside your profile or settings area.
- Open the Messenger app and make sure you are signed in to the account you want to change.
- Tap Chats at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap your profile picture in the upper-left corner.
- Tap Active Status.
- Switch the Active Status control to off.
- Confirm by tapping Turn Off.
Turn off Active Status on Facebook
The steps for Facebook itself could not be confirmed from a current official Meta article, so this guide does not give exact Facebook menu paths. In the Facebook app or website, look in your settings for an entry named Active Status and switch it off there. Menu locations on Facebook change with app versions, so if you cannot find the entry, search the settings for “Active Status” rather than relying on a fixed path.
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The same India Today guide notes that after you turn Active Status off, you may still appear active or recently active from other places where you use Facebook or Messenger, unless you turn it off in those places too. In practice, that means checking each of these separately:
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- The Messenger app on each phone or tablet you use.
- The Facebook app on each phone or tablet you use.
- Facebook or Messenger in a web browser on any computer you sign in on.
The guide does not explain exactly how activity is shared between these locations, so do not assume that one change applies to all of them.
What is verified and what is not
| Where you use it | Steps confirmed in the source | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Messenger on Android or iOS | Yes: Chats, profile picture, Active Status, switch off, Turn Off (India Today, July 13, 2020) | Labels may have changed since 2020 |
| Facebook app (phone) | Not stated in the source | Find the Active Status entry in settings; exact path varies by version |
| Facebook or Messenger in a browser | Not stated in the source | Check the Active Status entry in the site’s settings; exact path not confirmed |
Verify the change after you make it
After switching the setting off in a location, check whether the Active Status indicator still shows on your profile or in chats from that location. Then repeat the check in your other locations. If you still appear active, the setting is probably on in one place you have not yet checked.
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The source quoted here is a secondary guide from 2020, not an official Meta instruction. Meta’s own messaging help pages are the place to check for current instructions.
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Your reliable plan is to turn off Active Status in each Messenger and Facebook location you use and then confirm the result from each one.
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- MEMORIES MADE PICTURE PERFECT: Capture every angle in stunning clarity, from wide family photos to close-ups of friends, with the triple-lens camera on Galaxy A17 5G.
- NEED MORE STORAGE? WE HAVE YOU COVERED: With an improved 2TB of expandable storage, Galaxy A17 5G makes it easy to keep cherished photos, videos and important files readily accessible whenever you need them.³
- BUILT TO LAST: With an improved IP54 rating, Galaxy A17 5G is even more durable than before.⁴ It’s built to resist splashes and dust and comes with a stronger yet slimmer Gorilla Glass Victus front and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer back.
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