How to Turn Off Active Status on LinkedIn (2026)
The green dot next to your name shows others when you’re online. If you’d rather browse and message without broadcasting that you’re active, you can hide it. Here’s how to turn off active status and control related signals like read receipts.
1. Turn Off Active Status (Desktop)
- Click your Me icon (top-right) > Settings & Privacy.
- Go to Visibility in the left menu.
- Under Visibility of your LinkedIn activity, click Manage active status.
- Choose a setting:
- Your connections only — only 1st-degree connections see the dot.
- No one — hides the green dot from everyone.
- The choice saves automatically.
2. Turn Off Active Status (Mobile)
- Tap your photo > Settings.
- Tap Visibility.
- Tap Manage active status.
- Select No one (or Connections only).
3. The Trade-Off: You Stop Seeing Others’ Status Too
If you set active status to No one, you also won’t see anyone else’s green dot. That’s the deal — it’s reciprocal. Choose Connections only if you still want to see when your connections are online.
4. Turn Off Read Receipts and Typing Indicators
The “active now” dot is separate from read receipts. To stop letting people see when you’ve read their messages:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Data privacy (or Communications, depending on version).
- Find Messaging experience > Read receipts and typing indicators.
- Toggle it off.
Note: turning this off means you also can’t see read receipts on messages you send.
5. Troubleshooting
The green dot still shows after I turned it off
Changes apply going forward. Fully close and reopen LinkedIn; the dot others saw may take a moment to clear. Confirm the setting reads No one.
I can’t see if my connections are online anymore
That’s expected with No one selected — it’s reciprocal. Switch to Connections only to keep seeing their status while staying visible to them.
What’s the difference between active status and read receipts?
Active status is the green dot showing you’re online. Read receipts show you’ve opened a message. They’re controlled in different settings — turn off both for full privacy.
Does turning off active status stop notifications?
No. You still receive messages and notifications normally — others just can’t see that you’re currently online.
Related LinkedIn guides: How to block someone · How to see who viewed your profile · How to unfollow someone · How to deactivate LinkedIn. To keep the messages you do want flowing into follow-ups, see Carly’s LinkedIn integration.
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