This article describes how to change your availability to send and receive instant messages in Yahoo! Mail.

Your chat availability appears at the top left of the Yahoo! Mail page, next to your name or ID. If you're signed out of Messenger, you see a gray icon () next to your name.

To change your chat availability status:

1. In the top left corner of the page, click your Yahoo! ID.
2. From the pull-down menu that appears, select an availability status:

• Available: Select to make yourself available to chat.
• Busy: Select if you are online but not available to chat unless it’s an emergency.
• Invisible to Everyone: Select if you are online and don’t want others to know that. You will appear offline to others but can still see your online contacts and instant message with them.
• Sign out of Messenger: Select to sign out of chat and set your status to Offline.
  Tip: You can also click the yellow bolt icon next to Online Contacts to sign out of Yahoo! Messenger in Mail.

If you are signing in, for a few seconds you'll see the message “Loading,” and then you’ll see the availability you selected.

Note: Yahoo! Mail saves your Yahoo! Messenger status when you leave Yahoo! Mail. When you return to Yahoo! Mail, it resumes the same status. If you were signed in to Yahoo! Messenger when you last exited Yahoo! Mail, you will be automatically signed in the next time you open your mail.

For more information on changing your chat status, see the video tutorial "Making Yourself Available to Chat".