Facebook for Android: How to Turn Facebook Chat On or Off

If you’re using Facebook for Android, you may want to control whether Facebook Chat is turned on or off. Here’s everything you need to know about enabling or disabling the feature.

Enable or Disable Chat/Messaging

There are mainly two ways you can turn Facebook Chat on or off from your Android. One involves the standard Facebook app. Another involves the separate Facebook Messenger app.

Facebook App

You can turn Facebook Chat on or off from the standard Facebook app using these steps:

1. Open the “Facebook” app.
2. Tap the Menu icon  located at the upper-right corner of the screen to expand your options.
3. Tap “Messenger” in the “Apps” section.
4. Tap the Gear icon located at the upper-right corner of the screen.
5. Check the “On” box to turn Facebook Chat on. Uncheck the box to turn it off.

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Facebook Messenger

If you have Facebook Messenger installed on your Android device, use these steps:

1. Open the “Messenger” app.
2. Tap the “Menu”  icon located at the upper-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap the “Active” selection at the top of the screen.
4. Toggle your name to “On” or “Off” as desired.

Note: Facebook Chat is off when using Facebook Messenger.

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Chat/Messaging Notifications

What you should probably know is the above settings only control your visibility for other users. Turning the setting on or off will only show or not show you online respectively. People can still send you messages and you will still get notifications when somebody sends you one.

Facebook App

If you wish to receive or not receive Facebook Chat notifications, use these steps:

1. Open the “Facebook” app.
2. Tap the “Menu”  icon, located at the upper-right of the screen.
3. Select “App Settings“.
4. Scroll down to the “Messages” area and toggle “Facebook chat” to “On” or “Off” as desired.

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Facebook Messenger

If you wish to turn Notifications off from the Facebook Messenger app, use these steps:

1. Open the “Messenger” app.
2. Tap the Person icon located at the upper-right corner of the screen.
3. Select “Notifications & Sounds“.
4. Slide the “Notification previews” setting to “On” or “Off” as desired. You can also check or uncheck “Vibrate“, “Light“, or “Sound” if you wish to turn certain types of notifications on or off.