How to Hide "Active Now" on Facebook Messenger

This How.com.vn teaches you how to hide the fact that you are online on Facebook Messenger, as well as how to hide the list of your contacts that are currently online. Keep in mind that your "Last Active" timestamp always reflects the moment that you went offline, which means you won't be able to keep that a secret. You must turn off your Active status on every device you use Facebook and Facebook messenger on to appear offline. You will also not be able to see who is online on your list.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Facebook Messenger on a Phone or Tablet

1
Open Messenger. Tap the Messenger app icon, which resembles a bolt of lightning on a blue speech bubble, on the home screen or in the app drawer. This will open your Messenger home page if you're signed in.
- If you aren't signed into Messenger, enter your phone number, tap Continue, and then enter your password.
It's in the upper-right corner of the Messenger. This displays the account menu.
It's next to the green speech bubble icon below the "People" header.
This displays an alert that informs you that you will not be able to your friends and family online.
It's in the lower-right corner of the pop-up alert. You will no longer appear active on Facebook Messenger.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Facebook Messenger on a Computer

1
Go to https://www.facebook.com in a browser. This will open your News Feed if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged in, enter your email address (or phone number) and password to do so now.
It's the speech bubble icon with a lightning bolt at the top-right corner of Facebook. A menu will expand.
It's in the bottom-left corner of the menu.
This gear-shaped icon is on the upper-left side of the Messenger window. A menu will expand.
It's at the top of the menu.
6
Click the green switch
. It's at the top of this page next to your name. Clicking it will cause it to turn white, which hides your profile from your friends' "Active Now" lists.
- The "Last Active" timestamp that appears next to your name when you go offline will reflect the time that you clicked this switch.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Hiding Your Active Friends on a Computer

1
Go to https://www.facebook.com/ in your browser. This will open your News Feed if you're logged into Facebook.
- If you aren't logged into Facebook, enter your email address (or phone number) and password before proceeding.
- Use this method if you don't want to see a list of your online friends on Facebook.com. You cannot hide the Active Now list in the Messenger mobile app.
If you don't see a list of contacts who are currently online on the right side of the page, your Active Now list is already hidden.
It's a gear-shaped icon at the bottom of the chat sidebar. A menu will appear.
4
Click Hide Sidebar. This option is in the middle of the sidebar. Your Facebook chat bar should disappear from the left side of the screen, which removes all "Active Now" green dots and the pertaining names.
- Clicking the Chat bar in the bottom right corner of your Facebook window will bring back the sidebar.
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Community Q&A

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Question
How can I hide 'active now' on Messenger Lite?
Tabitha Qualls
Community Answer
Messenger Lite does not offer the 'active now' function. So, your contacts will simply see that you are active, but they will not be able to see if you are viewing the conversation or not. You cannot disable that, however.
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Question
How would I be able to tell if my contact is active, then?
Tabitha Qualls
Community Answer
You wouldn't know if they are active. That's the point of disabling that function.
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Question
How do I send pictures and videos on Messenger?
Tabitha Qualls
Community Answer
To send pictures, open the conversation and tap the photo icon. From there, you can take a new picture and send it to a contact, or send the contact a photo you've already taken. Tap the photo and then tap the Send or airplane icon. To send videos, open the conversation and tap the photo icon. From there, your videos should be in chronological order within your photos, so once again, you just need to tap the Send or airplane icon to send the video. Videos may take several minutes to completely send, so be patient.
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