There are roughly 700 million active Telegram users, and you appear online to all your added contacts by default. Regardless of what social media app you use, you must sacrifice your privacy to an extent.
Telegram often tracks your activity and shows when you’re online. However, Telegram also lets its users decide if they wish to show their online status or not. So, how can you appear offline on Telegram?
To appear offline on Telegram, you must go to Telegram settings and select the “Privacy and Security” option. Next, navigate to the “Last Seen & Online” option and set it to “Nobody.” You can also add exceptions to your privacy settings.
You may not be able to appear fully offline on Telegram. However, this article will guide you on how to hide your online status from your Telegram contacts on both your phone and your PC.
Appearing Offline on Telegram
If you want to appear offline on Telegram, you can do it using your PC or phone. Let’s discuss both.
If you disable your online status on Telegram, you won’t be able to see your contacts’ online statuses either. The app ensures that the dynamic remains fair.
Steps To Disable Online Status on Your PC
If you wish to use Telegram on your PC, firstly, you must download the app onto your desktop. Here’s the link for it.
Once the application is downloaded, follow these simple steps to appear offline:
- Open the Telegram app on your PC.
- Click on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.
- Choose the “Settings” option.
- Choose the “Privacy and Security” option.
- Select “Who can see my Last Seen Time.”
- You’ll get to choose between 3 privacy options. Choose the “Nobody” option.
- “Everybody”
- “My Contacts”
- “Nobody”
- Click the “Back Arrow” to complete the process and return to the chat screen.
Once you choose to continue, your contacts will no longer be able to see when exactly you’re online.
Steps To Disable Online Status on Your Phone
Disabling your telegram active status from your phone is almost the same as doing so from your PC. Follow these steps:
- Open the Telegram app on your mobile device.
- Click on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner if you use Android, or select the “Settings” tab at the bottom on your iOS device.
- Select “Settings” on your Android device. Skip this step for iOS devices.
- Tap on “Privacy and Security.”
- Choose “Last Seen & Online.”
- Set it to “Nobody.”
- Tap the tick button in the top right corner of your Android device. The setting will be automatically saved on your iOS device.
By following these steps, your contacts won’t be able to see your online status, and you won’t be able to see their online status either.
What Do Your Contacts See if You Disable Online Status?
Once you set your “Last Seen & Online” to “Nobody,” your contacts will no longer know when you’re online on the app. Instead, Telegram will show users that you were “Recently Active.”
This applies to when you’re online and using the app, as well as when you’ve left the app.
What Does “Recently Active” Mean?
Recently Active is a very vague term, especially when used on Telegram. It can mean a range of things. It can mean that the user is currently active and using Telegram.
Alternatively, it can also mean that the user was active on the platform; however, currently, they do not have the app open.
It does not mention how recent the “Recently Active” was, hence, maintaining some privacy.
Yes, it’s not as great as completely keeping others in the dark about your online status, but it’s still better than letting others constantly track your activity.
Why Should You Disable Online Status?
There can be multiple reasons for wanting to disable your online status on Telegram.
Here are a few:
- You don’t want the app to track your activity constantly.
- You don’t want your contacts/other users to know about your constant activity on the app.
- You are trying to avoid replying to particular messages but don’t want them to think that you’re ignoring them. (Yes, we’ve all been there)
- You simply want to maintain your privacy.
Regardless of your reason, your privacy is your right, and you shouldn’t have to justify choosing it.
Conclusion
You might want to appear offline on Telegram for various reasons. However, you can’t completely appear offline.
Telegram only allows users to change their privacy settings, so they appear as “Recently Active” instead of online.
Do you think companies need to improve their privacy policies, or is this a cost worth paying? Let us know in the comments.
FAQs
Ghost mode is the same as setting your “Last Seen & Online” setting to “Nobody.” It’s simply a fancier name for the same thing.
There is no such thing as hiding members in a Telegram group. However, you can restrict them from sending messages to the group.
