What would you say if I told you that there are ways to appear offline on Facebook Messenger – to go invisible? You might think that this is really difficult, but it’s actually quite easy.
Many people are looking for ways to avoid being bothered by messages while they’re busy or just need a break.
Luckily, there is an easy way that doesn’t involve deleting your account or using third-party apps. It only takes a few minutes and it works across all devices!
Let’s take a look and get it done.
Why Would You Want to Appear Offline on Facebook Messenger?
There are many reasons why you may want to appear offline on Facebook Messenger. For example, if you are trying to concentrate on some problem-solving or studying, it might be best for you to avoid distractions.
Or, you may just want some peace and quiet. We all get fed up from time to time with the constant distraction of social media!
No matter what the reason is for appearing offline on Facebook Messenger, I’ll help you accomplish this goal!
It’s important to note that regular Facebook chat is different from Messenger – many get this fact mixed up. They are linked in a way but different services with different features.
Messenger is fully featured allowing you to chat via text, voice, or video to anyone – not just Friends. The chat on Facebook is more limited and you can only contact people in your Friends list.
They both work in tandem allowing you to see messages in both Messenger and Facebook. So you might want to appear offline on both. Also, you probably don’t realize that you can use Messenger without a Facebook account – see that guide for details.
Now that we’ve seen why it might be a good idea to appear offline on Facebook Messenger and Facebook itself, it’s time to find out how.
There are two different ways to make this happen:
Steps for Appearing Offline
To begin with. In Messenger, you have a handy setting to allow you to appear offline to everyone or only to selected Friends. You can turn off your active status on Messenger – I have a more detailed guide here.
The first step is to log into Facebook Messenger. Once you are logged in, tap on your profile icon. Find “Active Status” and swipe off.
This will hide your status from everyone. It will also prompt you that you may still appear online on any other device you are signed in to Messenger. So you need to do this on all devices you are logged in.
To turn this off on Facebook the process is very similar but you tap on the Messenger icon to select hide active status.
Hiding your active status on all logged-in devices will also remove the “Last Active” message that usually shows up. This would allow others to see when you were last on FB Messenger.
The second way to appear offline on Facebook Messenger is by clicking on the “Settings” section of Facebook Messenger. Here, you will find an option at the bottom called “Turn Off Mobile Notifications“. Turn this off if you want to appear offline. Again you need to do this for all logged-in devices.
That’s you at least partially hidden on Facebook and Messenger but to appear totally hidden and go invisible on Facebook there is more you can do.
Take a minute to check out my article about GIFs not working on Facebook – I have some easy fixes for you!
Read Messages Confirmation
In Facebook chat and Messenger if you open and read a message from someone they can see that the message has been opened. This is visible to them in the message icons. See my guide on Messenger Symbols and Icons for a detailed explanation.
There are a couple of ways around this – to read a message without it showing as opened to others.
- Set your device to airplane mode then read the message. Make sure to sign out of Messenger before you switch back from airplane mode. Even though you have seen the message it will not display as read.
- Read the message in the notification bar. As a message comes in you can see it displayed at the top (or side) of your screen. This works for short messages but sometimes you’ll only see part of the message.
- On a PC you can use a Chrome extension called Unseen Chat Privacy.
It works well and will hide that a message has been read and will also hide the last active status and the typing indicator. This only works on a PC or laptop.
If you follow the above steps and remember to think about all the devices you might be signed in to, you’ll be able to appear offline on FB Messenger and Facebook chat itself. To be honest you’d think Facebook would make things a little more straightforward!
Read next – Find a Facebook picture viewer that works today!
What is Ghost Mode on Facebook Messenger?
Ghost Mode is just another term for appearing offline or going invisible on Facebook Messenger. There used to be a Chrome App called Ghost – it no longer exists but the term stuck!
Ever wondered how to see who you are following on Facebook? I have a guide about that!
Conclusion
This article has provided you with some insight into why it may be a good idea to appear offline on Facebook Messenger and Facebook Chat. It also provides an overview of the steps for appearing offline, as well as tips and tricks for successfully doing so.
I hope that this information is helpful to you! If not, please reach out at any time – I’m always happy to help!
