What does "online status/presence" mean?
or 
) next to your ID, indicating that you are online. They can then contact you by sending an instant message.
If a user sees a grey face (
or 
) next to your ID, this means that you have logged out of Yahoo!, or you are offline. If someone tries to send you a message when you are offline, you can retrieve that message the next time you sign into Yahoo!.
Please note: You must have Yahoo! Messenger installed to receive offline messages.
If you'd like to send instant messages and meet other Yahoo! members, download Yahoo! Messenger.
If you don't want other people to know when you are online on Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Chat, or Yahoo! Games, you can disable the online status feature at any time. Here's how:
- Log out of Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Chat, or Yahoo! Games.
- Go to the Edit Profiles page.
- You should see a checkbox that says next to it, "Check the box to hide my online status from other users."
- Checking the box will hide your online status. If you leave the box unchecked, other people will know when you're online.
- Click the "Finished Editing" button when you're done.
- Log back into Yahoo! Messenger, Chat, or Games, and your new settings should be working.
If your alias/profile does not show up as being online, please read this troubleshooting help section.
If your ID always shows up as online (even when you are offline), please read this troubleshooting help section.