Some people prefer not to have their activities monitored. For easy access, Google Hangouts adds your contacts to the left panel of your email screen. Now, because you can start to chat or video chat at any time easily, they can see you are online too. So, to prevent Gmail from letting your contacts know when you are online, read on.
Your friends automatically see when you are online via the Google Talk network via Gmail, but you can change this. By making your status private, you can limit what your contact knows about you.
How to sign up for a Gmail account
- Head straight to gmail.com, the email registration site.
- The sign-up page is what you will see first. Move to “Create a new account.”.
- At this point, you step into the process of signing up for the Gmail account. Now, choose the account you want to create. Afterward, provide your full name, a valid phone number, and a username, which is your email address. Select a strong password, and then click the sign-up button.
- Lastly, you have the verification stage to complete. Now, you may need to verify your account. Copy and paste the code sent to your mobile number in the verification box.
How to prevent Gmail from revealing your online status
By taking the following actions, you can prevent your contacts from seeing your online status:
- Move to your email account and click the gear bar in the top-right corner of your screen.
- Locate and click on “Settings” from the menu.
- Move to the chat bar that is among the tabs in the settings section.
- To turn “Chat off,” click the radio button. Following that, the system will hide your online status and chat visibility.
- Click on “Save Changes” after selecting Chat Off. Reloading the page is necessary to execute the changes.
How to mute notifications in Gmail
Some people will also want to mute chat notifications for a set amount of time. This doesn’t mean that people will stop seeing your online status. If you desire to do this, follow the below steps:
- In the chat panel, locate and click on the arrow close to your name.
- Next, click on Mute notifications” from the list on the menu.
- Select the amount of time you will like to mute notifications. You can choose between 1 to 24 hours, three days, or a week. Afterward, click on Resume under your name to unmute the notifications before the block expires.