These little images show you who’s ready to chat—and who’s not.

A plain yellow disc means that they are online. Double-click their name to start a conversation!

A yellow disc with a white bar through it means this person is busy.

A yellow clock means this person is online, but they haven’t used the computer in a while. Other people see this for you, too, if you don’t use your computer for awhile—and you can control what they see by clicking Messenger, then selecting Privacy Options, and in the “Idle Status” section, configuring the settings whichever way you’d like.

A phone icon means that the contact is using their mobile phone. You can still send them instant messages, which will appear on their phone as text (SMS) messages. Remember that according to individual mobile carrier policies, your pals might get charged for these. :o)

And a sleeping gray face means that the contact is offline.