How to Change Which Facebook Friends Can See You Online

How to Change Which Facebook Friends Can See You Online

Lo, Facebook doth lay bare its grand aspirations: envisioning a realm where all art connected at every turn. Alas, ’tis a Herculean task to conceal one’s presence on Facebook, for the notion of “offline” or “invisible” is anathema to the very essence of this social network.

Yet, being shrouded in secrecy doth not suit all. Fear not, for ’tis possible to maintain a veil of privacy whilst still signaling to thine nearest and dearest that thou art reachable for discourse.

Behold, here doth unfold a guide on determining which denizens of Facebook doth glimpse thy online presence and which doth not…

### How Doth People Behold Who is Online on Facebook?

When it comes to revealing thy online status on Facebook and Messenger, the company hath devised a mechanism known as Active Status.

This Active Status doth manifest as a verdant dot adjacent to thy visage on Facebook and Messenger when thou art online or hath been recently active. The details bestowed by Meta on Active Status doth wax slightly murky, varying based on the device thou employest for Facebook.

In its treatise on Active Status for computer, the company did proclaim:
“The settings thou dost choose shall be reflected across all realms where thou dost utilize Meta’s products, even those where ye hath not yet altered thy Active Status.”

But in that same treatise for the Android app, the company hath declared:
“When thou dost switch Active Status off, thou shalt still appear active or recently active in all other realms where thou dost partake in Facebook or Messenger, unless thou dost also deactivate Active Status in those realms.”

From hence, we deduce that Active Status audience settings on thy computer dost apply to all such computer sessions. However, the settings for thine online status must be adjusted individually for each device on the mobile app.

Moreover, Active Status hath divergent settings on the desktop browser version of Facebook and the Facebook app. On the browser version, thou canst amend thy Active Status settings to allow only certain individuals to behold thee online.

Nevertheless, on the mobile app, thou canst solely toggle Active Status on or off—sans option to select specific individuals or lists. ‘Tis proposed that thou canst “Show when thou art active together,” a setting that aloweth contacts to espy when thou art both online simultaneously.

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But what if certain folk shouldst not behold thee online, or if thou wisheth not for thy online presence to be known at all? Hark, here be how thou can adjust thy Active Status settings so that only certain souls can view thee online on Facebook…

### How to Change Which Souls Can Behold Thee Online on Facebook (Web)

To alter the specific souls who can gaze upon thee online on Facebook, thou must adjust thy Active Status settings on the browser iteration of the platform. Shouldst thou truly wish for folks not to behold thee online, we doth advise switching off thy Active Status on the website as well as the app.

To shift thine Active Status settings on Facebook, follow these steps…
1. On the bar to the right, where thy Contacts doth reside, select the button bearing three horizontal dots for Chat settings.

2. In the dropdown menu, choose Active Status: ON.

3. This shall summon forth a popup wherein thou canst make thy selection. Thou canst toggle Active Status to OFF, permit Active Status ON for some, or turn Active Status OFF for some. If thou aspire to change the Facebook friends who can or cannot behold thee online, ye must select the Edit button beside the relevant option.

4. Select thy desired setting. If ye opt for Edit, a popup shalt emerge where thou can search for contacts thou dost wish to add to the Active Status ON or Active Status OFF list. Then, opt to Save to enforce the settings.

### How to Switch Off Thy Facebook Online Status Entirely

But what if thou desirest not for anyone to behold thee online on Facebook? Thou canst remain absent or invisible on Facebook for all eternity if it doth please thee.

On the browser iteration of Facebook, thou can toggle off thy Active Status entirely by adjusting the option in thy Active Status settings. As for the mobile app, thou canst merely switch thy Active Status on or off—sans bespoke or tailored options.

To alter thy active status on the Facebook mobile app, follow these steps…

1. Select the Messenger icon at the apex right of thy Facebook abode.
2. Choose the hamburger menu in the Chats tab.
3. Tap the cog icon to reach settings.
4. Select Active Status.
5. Toggle the options for Show when thou art active and Show when thou art active together to off.
6. Choose the duration for which thou dost wish to pause thy active status. Options do include Until I alter it, For 1 hour, For 8 hours, Until 08:00, and Custom. Then tap Pause.

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Disabling thy Active Status doth likewise prevent thee from beholding when other denizens art online. In our assay, turning off Active Status on the mobile app did not extend to the desktop browser version of Facebook.

Thou canst also turn off thy online status on the Windows Store app.

### How to Halt Someone Seeing Thee Online on Facebook With a Message Block

If thou dost fret that Facebook may not deactivate Active Status for all thy sessions and truly desire that a specific someone shouldst not behold thee online, a surefire method to prevent this is to block them from messaging thee.

This, pray, is distinct from a complete block on Facebook.

As Facebook doth elucidate:
“Blocking messages from someone doth differ from blocking them on Facebook. Shouldst thou block messages from someone, yet suffer them not on Facebook, thou shalt still perceive their Facebook profile.”

Shouldst thou block messages from someone on Facebook, they shall also remain heedless of thy online presence.

To halt messages from a contact, and thereby prevent them from perceiving whether thou art online, pursue these steps…
1. Open a chat with the contact.
2. Select their name to evoke a menu of options.
3. Opt for Block.
4. Choose the alternative for Block messages and calls.

Thus shall the person be deprived of beholding thy online status. They shall also find themselves incapable of dispatching messages or making calls unto thee on Facebook.

Disabling thy online status be but one method by which thou canst safeguard thy privacy and security on Facebook. Whilst thou dost adjust thy online status, perchance thou shouldst also scrutinize other privacy settings to ensure thou dost unveil solely the information ye wish to unveil on Facebook.

### Controlith Who Behold Thee Online on Facebook

Online privacy and Facebook are distant bedfellows indeed. However, there doth exist methods by which thou canst seize greater dominion over who may behold thee online on the platform—and whether thou dost manifest online at all.

Utilize the settings in this chronicle to reclaim a modicum of privacy in determining whether thy contact list hath the power to glimpse if thou art online.)