How To Appear Offline On Xbox? (Step-By-Step Guide)

The Xbox One and the Xbox Series’ privacy settings allow you to customize who gets to see when you’re online. Let’s remember these two console families share interfaces and services. The tutorial is the same for either option.

In summary, you’ll find the relevant options on the console’s privacy or the profile menu. Otherwise, you can find it on the app.

Appear Offline on Xbox Series and Xbox One Consoles

To appear offline on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One, you can simply go to the Profile side menu and change it quickly.

This is the easiest way, and here’s the tutorial:

Go to your Xbox’s home page
Press the Xbox button on the controller to open the menu
Go to Profile & system, all the way to the right
Select your profile
At the bottom of the new menu, select Appear online. If you already selected to appear offline, you’ll see it as “Appear offline” instead.
Select Appear offline

The process will make you appear offline to every player. It doesn’t matter if someone has you added as a friend; you’ll still be invisible to them, even if you’re playing with them.

Appear Offline to Anyone but Your Friends on Xbox

You can customize it further and decide who gets to see you when you’re online. Even more, you can customize who can talk to you, add you to their contact list, or play with you:

Go to your Xbox’s home screen
Press the Xbox button on the controller
Go to Profile & System
Select Settings
Go to Account
Select Privacy & online safety
Select Xbox Live privacy
Select View details & customize
Select Online status & history

There’re multiple options on the new page, on a series of dropdown menus. These settings offer three options: “Everybody,” “Friends,” and “Block.” To make your profile visible only to your friends, select “Friends” on “Others can see if you’re online.”

Appear Offline through the Xbox App

There’s a third way to appear offline while playing on Xbox One or Xbox Series. The alternative is available through the Xbox app, free for Android and iPhone.

So, first, you can download the app for your smart device, launch it, and log in with the same credentials you use on your Xbox.

Then, here’s what you need to do:

Open the app
Tab your profile picture. It’s on the bottom-right of the app’s home page.
Tab “Appear Offline.” It’s a button on the profile page below your profile picture and name.

Tapping the button will automatically swap between offline and online. If you were online, it would remove the green dot next to your profile, so your friends will always see you as “offline.”

Then, if you want to appear online again, you can tap the “Appear online” button. Alternatively, you can do it on the Xbox with the steps above.

Additional Privacy Options on Xbox

Microsoft offers a broad suite of privacy settings for its console users. If you’re an Xbox owner, you should check the options before playing online.

Particularly, if there’re children at home, you should take care of these settings for them. In other words, use their consoles and accounts to make gaming more private. It’s a matter of safety.

So, go back to the Xbox Live privacy menu, and check its options thoroughly. Alternatively, you can change the configuration on your PC using a web browser:

Sign in to Xbox on this page. Use the same credentials you’re using on your console.
Click your Gamertag at the top right of the screen.
Select Xbox profile
Go to Privacy settings.
After selecting Privacy settings, you may have to log in with your Microsoft account. It may even ask you to verify your identity by sending a code to your email or phone.
Select “Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 devices Online Safety.”
Review the settings carefully and update what you want to change
Click on “Submit” at the bottom to save the changes.
Check the Privacy tab for other settings, and remember to click on “Submit” to save changes.