Slack Status Icons Meaning: Every Dot, Z, Shape and Emoji
A solid green dot means active, a hollow dot means away, and a small z means notifications are paused. What every Slack status icon, color, shape and default status emoji means, in one chart.
In Slack, a solid green dot means the person is active, a hollow grey dot means away, a small z means their notifications are paused, and an emoji next to the name is a status they set themselves.
The z can sit on a green dot or a hollow one. A square or triangle instead of a dot marks a guest, which says who the person is, not whether they are there.
Slack has only two presence states: active and away. There is no separate "offline" color and no mobile badge. The dot changes on its own. On a computer the desktop app turns you away after 10 minutes with no input anywhere on the computer (Slack desktop 4.52.178 code, checked 7 Oct 2026). On a phone you turn away as soon as you leave the app.
That automatic timer is why so many people search for these icons: they look away while they are working. The rest of this page is the full icon list.
Slack status colors: the dot next to every name
The dot shows presence. Slack calls it availability. Slack's help center puts it in one line: you are set to active when Slack is open on your desktop or mobile device, and to away after 10 minutes of desktop inactivity or when you leave or close the mobile app.
| Icon | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Solid green dot | Active | Slack is open and in use on a computer, or open on screen on a phone |
| Hollow dot, grey or empty circle | Away | No input on the computer for 10 minutes, the phone app is closed, or the person set themselves away |
| Green dot with a small z | Active, notifications paused | They are in Slack but get no alerts. Do Not Disturb is on |
| Hollow dot with a small z | Away, notifications paused | Not in Slack and no alerts. This is how most people look at night |
Three details trip people up:
- • The desktop app counts input anywhere on the computer. It reads the computer's idle time every 10 seconds, so typing in a document counts. Sitting still on a Zoom call or reading without touching anything does not, and after 10 minutes the dot goes hollow. The full rule is in how Slack decides when you're away.
- • The empty circle does not mean offline or signed out. Slack shows away for idle, closed, asleep, and "set yourself as away" in exactly the same way. Nobody can tell which one it is from the dot.
- • There is no phone icon. A person answering from their phone gets the same green dot. We tested this in does Slack show when you are on mobile.
For the full mechanics behind the green dot, read Slack active status explained. Everything else about Slack status, custom status and outages included, is on our Slack status hub.
What the z on a Slack status means
The small z (older versions drew a crescent moon) is the Do Not Disturb icon. Slack now calls it pause notifications. It says nothing about whether the person is at their desk. The dot under it still does that job.
The z appears for three reasons. The person paused notifications by hand, their notification schedule turned it on outside their working hours, or an admin set default quiet hours for the whole workspace. Messages still arrive while the z is on, and a sender can choose to notify them anyway once per day.
Every combination, and how to remove the z from your own name, is in what a green Slack dot with a z means. The settings themselves are in our Slack Do Not Disturb guide.
Slack status emoji meanings: the palm tree and the rest
The emoji right after a name is a custom status. The person picked it, or an app set it for them. Hover over it on desktop, or open the profile, to read the text that goes with it. If someone sets a status with text but no emoji, Slack shows a speech balloon 💬 by default.
These are the suggestions Slack offers when you set a status. The first five are the ones the Set a status dialog showed in our workspace on 6 October 2026, each with its default clear time:
| Emoji | Default text | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 🗓️ | In a meeting (clears after 1 hour) | Slow to answer until the meeting ends. Calendar apps set it for you |
| 🚌 | Commuting (30 minutes) | On the move, maybe reading on a phone |
| 🤒 | Out sick (today) | Not working today |
| 🌴 | Vacationing (start and end date) | On holiday. Do not expect a reply |
| 🏡 | Working remotely (today) | Working, from home or somewhere else |
| 🎧 | In a huddle | On a live Slack call. Slack sets this on its own |
| ⛔ | Out of office | Enterprise plans only. Hover to read their out of office message, which also tells you who to contact. See Slack out of office |
What does the palm tree mean on Slack? The 🌴 is Slack's default emoji for "Vacationing". The person is on holiday or out of office. Many teams also use it for public holidays. Open the profile to see the text and, if they added one, the date it clears.
Admins can edit the suggested list for a workspace, so your team may see different defaults, such as a lunch or focus status. Any emoji can be a status, including custom ones. If you want your own, the Slack emoji maker turns an image into a status emoji, and the Slack status ideas tool has ready-made text for common situations.
Statuses Slack sets for you
Some statuses change without anyone touching them. In Preferences, under Automatic statuses, Slack can update your status when you are in a huddle, in focus mode, or after your working hours. A connected Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar app can also set 📆 In a meeting during events. If you see a status on your own name that you did not set, check these first. To set one yourself, or clear it, follow how to change your status on Slack.
To wear one of these yourself, see how to put an emoji next to your name in Slack. It covers the status emoji and why the display name no longer takes one.
Slack icons next to names: guests, apps and external people
Some icons never change, because they describe the account, not the activity.
| Icon | Where | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Square | Next to a name | Multi-channel guest, an outside person with access to two or more channels |
| Triangle | Next to a name | Single-channel guest, an outside person in one channel only |
| Small company logo | Bottom-right corner of the profile photo | External person from another organization, through Slack Connect |
| APP | Next to a name | A bot or integration, not a person |
Slack's help center confirms the guest shapes: multi-channel guests have a square next to their names and single-channel guests have a triangle. For external people, Slack says their profile photos carry their organization's Slack icon in the bottom-right corner.
Bots have presence too. A bot marked away shows the same grey circle as a person. For the Microsoft Teams equivalents, see Microsoft Teams status icons meaning.
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Slack channel icons: lock, hash and double diamond
The sidebar uses icons for channels, not people:
What does 👀 mean in Slack?
The eyes emoji is a reaction, not a status. When someone adds 👀 to a message, the team convention is "I have seen this and I am looking at it." It works as a quiet read receipt, because Slack has no read receipts of its own. The other live signal is "is typing" under the message box; see Slack typing indicator. Other common reactions: ✅ for done, 👍 for agreed, and 🙏 for thanks. The full list of reaction meanings is in what does the eyes emoji mean in Slack.
What does the heavy plus sign mean in Slack?
➕ is Slack's :heavy_plus_sign: emoji, and like 👀 it is a reaction, not a status. Teams use it to say "me too" or "count me in": add it to "Who can review the deploy at 3?" and you have put your name down without a reply. We added it to a test message on 6 October 2026; Slack accepted heavy_plus_sign, and plus returned invalid_name.
Your own icons: why your dot goes hollow while you work
Most people who look up these icons have one question about their own dot: why it shows away when they are at their desk. The answer is the rule from the first section: 10 minutes with no keyboard or mouse input on the computer, which happens on long calls and while reading, or Slack open only in a browser tab. How long each device holds you green is in how long does Slack stay active.
You have three options:
If you want the opposite, and prefer to look away while you work, see how to appear offline on Slack.
FAQ
What do the different status icons mean in Slack?
The dot is presence: solid green for active, hollow for away. A small z on either dot means notifications are paused. The emoji after a name is a custom status the person set. A square or triangle marks a guest, and a small company logo on a photo marks someone from another organization.
What does an empty circle mean on Slack?
The person is away. Slack shows this after 10 minutes with no input on the computer, as soon as they leave the phone app, or when they set themselves away. It looks the same in every case.
What does the Z next to my Slack status mean?
Your notifications are paused. Either you paused them, your notification schedule did it outside your working hours, or your admin set default quiet hours. Type /dnd off in any message box to resume them.
Is there an offline status on Slack?
No. Slack has active and away only. A person who closed Slack, a person who is idle, and a person who set themselves away all show the same hollow dot.
How long does a Slack status stay green?
On a computer, 10 minutes after your last keyboard or mouse input, in any app. On a phone, only while the app is open on screen. A custom status emoji stays until the clear time you chose, or until you clear it.
What does the headphones icon mean on Slack?
Headphones next to a channel or DM mean a huddle, a live Slack audio or video call, is running there. A 🎧 after a person's name is usually a status emoji they chose for focus time. Screenshots of every spot are in Slack headphones icon. What others see when you join one is in can people see when you join a Slack huddle.
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