How to Change Your Status on Slack, Desktop and Mobile

To change your status on Slack, click your profile picture in the sidebar. Then pick one of two options. Update your status sets a custom status, an emoji plus a short message such as "In a meeting". Set yourself as away (or Set yourself as active) changes the presence dot next to your name. On the mobile app you tap your profile picture and see the same two options.

These two controls are separate systems, and most "my status will not change" questions come from mixing them up. A custom status is a label you write. The dot is Slack's own record of whether you used Slack in the last few minutes. This guide covers both, on desktop and mobile, plus clearing a status, the snooze Z, and the one thing no menu in Slack can change.

We build Slack Green, a service that keeps the presence dot green from a server on the working hours you choose. That is the one part of Slack status you cannot set by hand, so this page points it out where it matters and not elsewhere.

Status vs presence: the two things Slack calls status

Slack's own help page uses two words. A status is "a message that lets others know what you're up to". Availability, also called presence, is the dot next to your display name.

Changing one does nothing to the other. You can show "On vacation" with a green dot, or "At my desk" with a grey one. The full mechanics of the dot are in Slack active status explained.

How to change your custom status on Slack desktop

These steps work in the desktop app and in Slack in a browser.

• Click your profile picture in the sidebar.
• Click the Update your status field.
• Type a message and pick an emoji, or choose one of the suggested statuses.
If you pick no emoji, Slack shows a speech balloon by default.
• Click Remove status after... and choose when the status clears.
• Optional: tick Pause notifications to mute alerts until the status
clears.
• Click Save.

The emoji now shows next to your name everywhere people see your name. The full text shows when someone hovers over the emoji or opens your profile. What every dot, z and default status emoji means to the people who see it is in our guide to Slack status icons. The status message is short: Slack's API caps it at 100 characters, so write one line. If you need words, the free Slack status ideas tool has lines sorted by situation, and funny Slack status ideas has the lighter set.

To edit or clear a status, click your profile picture again. Click your current status to edit it, or click Clear status to remove it.

How to change your status on the Slack mobile app

The iPhone and Android apps use the same flow with taps:

Tap your profile picture.

Tap the status field.

Type a status, then tap the emoji icon to choose an emoji, or pick a

suggested status.

Tap Clear after to choose when it goes away.

Tap Done.

To edit or clear it later, tap your profile picture, then tap your current status to edit it, or tap Clear. A status you set on your phone is the same status on your desktop, because it belongs to your account in that workspace.

How to change your active, away, or online status

This is the dot. Slack sets it for you. You are active when Slack is open on your desktop or phone. You go away after 10 minutes with no input in the Slack window on desktop, or when you leave or close the app on mobile.

To change it by hand:

• Desktop: click your profile picture, then click Set yourself as away

or Set yourself as active.

• Mobile: tap your profile picture, then tap Set yourself away or

Set yourself as active.

Two details the menu does not tell you:

• Away sticks. A manual away stays until you switch it back, through

restarts and new sessions. If your dot is grey while you type, check this menu first. The other causes are in stop Slack from showing you as away.

• Active does not stick. "Set yourself as active" only returns control to

Slack's timer. Ten minutes later, with no input in the Slack window, you are away again. Work in other apps does not count, because Slack only sees input inside its own window.

To look offline on purpose, the away toggle is the whole method, and can you appear offline on Slack shows what others can and cannot see. To stay green, Slack has no setting. The dot follows input, so every method feeds the timer: your own clicks, input sent to the Slack window, or a server that holds your session active, which is what Slack Green does on a schedule. The trade-offs of each method are in how to keep Slack active.

What each Slack status control changes

How to change your snooze status on Slack

"Snooze" is the Z that shows on your dot when notifications are paused. Slack now calls this Pause notifications, and older versions called it Do Not Disturb. It mutes alerts. It does not make you away.

• Desktop: click your profile picture, hover over Notifications, and

pick a time frame or Custom. Choose Resume notifications in the same menu to end it.

• Mobile: tap your profile picture, tap Pause notifications, and pick a

time frame. Tap Resume notifications to end it.

• Any device: type /dnd for 30 mins, /dnd until 5pm, or /dnd off in the

message box.

If a Z shows up that you did not set, your notification schedule or an admin default is the usual cause. What the green dot with a Z means explains each case, and the Slack Do Not Disturb guide covers schedules and exceptions in full.

Scheduled and automatic statuses

Slack can set a status for you in two ways.

Scheduled status. In the status editor, open the Duration menu and click Choose a start and end time. The status turns on and off at those times, and your computer does not need to be on. You can queue up to five. A scheduled status runs once, with no repeat option, so for a daily lunch or focus block see how to schedule a Slack status.

Automatic statuses. Slack can show that you may be slow to reply while you are in a huddle, in focus mode, or after your working hours. On desktop, click your profile picture, open Preferences, and tick or untick each one under Automatic statuses.

Neither one touches the dot. A scheduled "Out for lunch" still leaves you green if your Slack window is getting input, and grey if not.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change my status on Slack? Click your profile picture in the sidebar. Choose Update your status for an emoji and message, or Set yourself as away or active for the dot. On mobile, tap your profile picture for the same options.

How do I change my status on the Slack mobile app? Tap your profile picture, tap the status field, type a message, pick an emoji, set Clear after, and tap Done. For the dot, tap Set yourself away or Set yourself as active in the same screen.

Why does my Slack status change back to away? If you set yourself away by hand, it stays until you set yourself active. If not, the 10-minute timer did it: no input in the Slack window for 10 minutes on desktop, or the app left the screen on your phone. Why Slack goes idle so quickly covers sleep and lock as well.

Can I set my Slack status to always active? No setting does it. Set yourself as active only resets the timer once. Keeping the dot green takes input in Slack, from you, from software, or from a server like Slack Green.

Does a custom status like "Available" keep me green? No. The text is a label. The dot only follows activity.

How do I clear a Slack status? Click or tap your profile picture, then Clear status on desktop or Clear on mobile. To avoid doing it by hand, set Remove status after when you create the status. If your status keeps disappearing on its own, the six causes are in Slack keeps clearing my status.

The short version

Profile picture, then Update your status for the emoji and text, or Set yourself as away/active for the dot. Set an expiry on every custom status. Use Pause notifications for the Z. The dot is the one part you cannot fix in a menu, because it follows your last 10 minutes of Slack input. If you want it to follow your working hours instead, that is what Slack Green is for. Every other Slack status question, from icons to outages, is linked from our Slack status hub.