Discord, the current king of chat room apps, has seen an explosion of users over the last few years. But being new to Discord means learning a new language, whether that includes getting used to Discord's markup language or disseminating what those colored circles mean next to your name. Discord has many helpful (but non-intuitive) features waiting to be explored.
Learning the social etiquette in any community can be daunting. We teach you all about the Discord statuses you may encounter. There's plenty to discover, from the famous idle status to the busy sign. The next time you plan to mingle on the app with your trusty Android tablet, phone, or computer, you won't feel as overwhelmed or confused with all the jargon.
Online Discord status
This is the default status. Unless you tell Discord otherwise, you appear as Online when actively using the app. That means if you have the Discord window open, and you're typing, on a call, or moving the mouse around as you browse your servers, you appear as Online to other users.
If you only use your phone to access Discord and not the desktop client, other users see a green phone icon next to your avatar instead of the solid green circle.
Idle Discord status icon
If you don't interact with Discord for a while (about five minutes) and haven't closed the app, your status is automatically switched to Idle. This is Discord's version of AFK. You're still online, and you still receive notifications. However, Idle status gives you an excuse to leave your friends on read.
Discord status is set to Do Not Disturb
When you're tired of getting notifications but can't bring yourself to log out of Discord, you need Do Not Disturb. This status must be set manually and is perfect when you need voice chat but don't want notifications getting in the way of coordinating your raid.
Offline and Invisible status on Discord
This status indicates that you completely exited Discord or lost your internet connection. Alternatively, you can set your status to Invisible and appear as Offline to other Discord users. You can still use all of Discord's services, but it will look like you're not online to everyone else.
Custom Discord status
Discord allows you to create a tagline using any of its default statuses. You can set whether you wish to appear as Online, Idle, Do Not Disturb, or Invisible with your custom status. An included nifty feature is that you can tailor your status to a time by selecting an expiration date. For every status you set, you can automatically end your custom status after 30 minutes, one hour, four hours, the end of the day, or never.
Often, people use custom Discord statuses to reflect their mood, let someone know what they are up to, or use it as a place to host an emote (to add extra personality or expression). More often than not, you will likely encounter custom Discord statuses, which may get updated by the day.
Extra Credit: Streamer Mode
Discord isn't only a tool for gamers to communicate with each other while playing. It's also a tool for content creators, particularly streamers, to keep in touch with their audience in real time. Streamers want their chat on the screen when streaming, but they don't want their personal information broadcast to their stans. The Streaming status solves this by hiding personal information (like email, connected accounts, and server invite links) usually displayed by Discord.
You must be streaming for this status to appear. You may find that your status doesn't change to Streaming when using Twitch on your phone, but it might change when using OBS on a laptop. Considering this is more of a vanity status, don't stress it too much unless your streams are monetized and you have a Discord audience.
Go forth and chat
User status is an excellent way to gauge someone's availability to chat. Statuses are a perfect tool for moderating how others interact with you when you're online and how Discord interacts with you via notifications. If you're getting started on Discord, learning the ropes may take some time.
