How to Change Your Discord Status (Online, Idle, Invisible, Custom)

There are two kinds of status on Discord, and people mix them up. Your online status is the coloured dot that shows whether you're around. Your custom status is the short line of text, with an emoji if you like, that sits under your name.

Here's how to change both on desktop and mobile, and what each option does behind the scenes.

Change your online status

1. Click your profile picture in the bottom left corner of Discord.
2. The status picker opens.
3. Choose Online, Idle, Do Not Disturb or Invisible.

On mobile, long-press your profile icon in the bottom right corner, or tap it, then choose from the Online Status menu in your account.

What each status means

Status	How you appear	What else it does
Online	Green circle	Business as usual
Idle	Shown as idle	Normally switches on automatically when you're away; set manually, it stays on indefinitely
Do Not Disturb	Red circle	Mutes all your desktop notifications
Invisible	Appears offline	You can still use Discord and message friends without looking online

Invisible is the useful one people forget. You can carry on chatting, reading and messaging, and nobody sees the green dot. If you've been wondering how a friend always seems offline but replies straight away, that's likely it.

Set a custom status on desktop

1. Click your profile icon in the bottom left to open your profile menu.
2. Click the Add Status bubble.
3. Type your status. Click the emoji icon if you want to add one.
4. Use Clear After to pick when it disappears, and Status to set your online status at the same time.
5. Click Save in the bottom right.

Custom statuses expire after one day by default, but you can set them to last for shorter or longer periods. Server emojis in a custom status need Nitro or Nitro Basic; standard emojis work for everyone.

Set a custom status on mobile

1. Long-press your profile icon in the bottom right, or tap it and choose Add Status.
2. Tap Set a custom status.
3. Type your status in Edit Status and choose a Status Duration.
4. Tap Save in the top right.

Edit or clear it

• Desktop: click your profile icon, select your custom status, then use the pencil icon to edit or the bin icon to clear it.
• Mobile: long-press your profile icon or tap it and choose Edit Status. Tap the status to change it, or tap the X beside it to remove it.

Where your custom status shows, and where it doesn't

Here's the detail most guides skip. Discord says custom statuses override other activity statuses in a server's members list and in the friends list inside DMs and group chats. But your activity, such as a game you're playing or music you're listening to, still shows when someone opens your full profile.

So a custom status doesn't fully hide what you're doing. The Activity Sharing settings further down are what control that. And if it's your name rather than your status you want to change, here's how to change your Discord name.

Reacting and replying to statuses

Discord has started letting people react to or reply to a custom status, with the response landing in your DMs. It's an experimental feature that only some users have at the moment, so don't worry if you can't see it yet.

Quick picks

• Focusing on work: Do Not Disturb, so notifications stay quiet.
• Want to lurk: Invisible.
• Away for a bit: Idle, set manually so it doesn't flip back.
• Telling friends you're busy: a custom status set to clear after a few hours.

If a particular person is the reason you want to go quiet, muting them might suit you better than changing your status for everyone. Here's how to mute someone on Discord.

Control who sees your activity

If what you're after is hiding the game or music you're playing, that's Activity Sharing rather than status. Open User Settings with the cog next to your username, then Activity Sharing, and switch off Share my activity, or choose who sees it:

Setting	Who sees your activity
Friends and All Servers	Friends and members of any server you join
Friends and Small Servers Only	Friends and servers with 200 or fewer members
Friends Only	Your friends only

You can also switch it off for a single server: right-click the server name, choose Privacy Settings and toggle Activity Status. Your profile shows your recent activity from the last 30 days, so it's worth checking what's there.

Why your status keeps switching to Idle

Discord normally switches you to Idle on its own when you've been away from the keyboard for a certain amount of time, which is why the dot changes while you're making a cup of tea. If you set Idle yourself from the status picker, Discord keeps it on indefinitely until you change it, so it won't flip back to Online when you start typing.

My advice

Use Do Not Disturb when you need to concentrate, because it's the only status that also silences desktop notifications. Pick a Clear After time every time you set a custom status, so you're not still telling everyone you're in a meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Picking an emoji for your status? See which emojis people use most.

Related reading: add banner to discord server.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change my status on Discord?

Click your profile picture in the bottom left and choose Online, Idle, Do Not Disturb or Invisible. On mobile, long-press your profile icon in the bottom right.

How long does a Discord custom status last?

Custom statuses expire after one day by default, but you can choose a shorter or longer time with Clear After or Status Duration.

Can I message people while invisible on Discord?

Yes. Invisible makes you appear offline, but you can still use Discord as normal, including messaging friends.

Does Do Not Disturb mute Discord notifications?

Yes. Do Not Disturb shows a red circle and automatically mutes all your desktop notifications.

Does a custom status hide my Discord activity?

Not completely. It overrides activity in members and friends lists, but your activity still shows when someone views your full profile.