Yahoo! Messenger Tutorials

Protecting Your Privacy

Overview Making Yourself Invisible Changing Your Stealth Setting Ignoring a Contact

Making Yourself Invisible

You can make yourself invisible, so that all contacts who have your name on their Messenger Lists see you as offline. All of the names on your Messenger List appear in italics, indicating your offline status. You can set this preference when you sign in, or you can set it in the Yahoo! Messenger Preferences window to cause it to take effect the next time you sign in.

 

Here's How

  1. Select Preferences from the Messenger menu in your Messenger window or from the Conversation menu in your IM window.

    2. Select Preferences from the Messenger menu.

    The Yahoo! Messenger Preferences window opens.

  2. On the left side of the window, select the Privacy category.

    Select the Privacy category.

  3. On the right side of the window, under When I sign into Yahoo! Messenger, check Always sign in as invisible. (Appear offline to all users.).

    Check Always sign in as invisible. (Appear offline to all users.)

  4. Click the OK button.

    The next time you sign in, you will appear to be offline to all contacts who have your name on their Messenger Lists.

    Tip: There are two alternative ways to make yourself invisible. You can check the Sign in as invisible option in the Sign In window when you sign in, or you can select Invisible to Everyone from the status pull-down menu in your Messenger window.

    Signing in as invisible. Select Invisible to Everyone from the status pull-down menu

    After you sign in, all of the contacts on your Messenger List display in italics to indicate that you appear to be offline to them.

    All contacts in your Messenger List display in italics.

    Tip: Regardless of which method you use to make yourself invisible, you can make yourself visible again by selecting any other option on the status pull-down menu in your Messenger window.

 

What's Next

You can change your stealth setting, so that you appear to be online to some contacts and offline to others.

 

Words to Know

  • Contact: a person with whom you interact; someone to whom you might want to send an email or instant message.
  • IM: the acronym for instant message.
  • Messenger List: a list of coworkers, friends, family, and associates who also use Yahoo! Messenger.