Skip to main content

​
Custom Status

Your custom status is the little message that shows up on your profile and in friend lists, right next to your status indicator. It’s a lightweight way to tell people what you’re up to without having to respond to “what are you doing?” from 12 different people.

​
What a Custom Status Looks Like

Your custom status appears:
  • On your mini profile, when someone clicks your name in a chat
  • In the friends list, visible to anyone who has you added
  • On your profile page, visible based on your privacy settings
A custom status looks something like: 
🎮 Currently: Elden Ring (send help)
or 
📝 Writing something. Back soon.
or even just 
💀
(We’ve all been there.)

​
Setting a Custom Status

  1. Click the status dot next to your avatar at the bottom of the sidebar
  2. Click Set Custom Status (or the text input that appears)
  3. Type your status, you can include emoji!
  4. Save / confirm
Your status updates immediately for anyone who can see your presence.

​
Using Emoji in Your Status

Emoji are first-class citizens in custom status. Type or paste any emoji at the start (or anywhere in) your status text. A few formats people like:
  • 🎵 listening to: [whatever you're playing]
  • ☕ definitely on my [nth] cup of coffee
  • 🌙 late night mode activated
  • 🚀 building things
  • 🤫 lurking
You can also use emoji shortcodes if you know them, :coffee: → ☕

​
Clearing Your Status

To remove your custom status:
  1. Click the status dot
  2. Click on your current custom status
  3. Delete the text and save (or click a “Clear” button if one’s present)
Alternatively, just replace it with a new one.

​
Cocoa Members: Rich Custom Status

Cocoa members have access to enhanced custom status features:
  • Better presentation, Enhanced display on profile cards
  • More expressive options, More formatting flexibility
  • Exclusive emoji, Access to Cocoa-exclusive status emoji (if applicable)
Don’t have Cocoa yet? See What is Cocoa? to learn about the perks.

​
Custom Status vs. Online Status

Custom status and your online status (Online, Away, Busy, Offline) are separate things that work together:
Online StatusCustom Status
What it showsGreen/yellow/red/grey dotText message
What it meansWhether you’re active/availableWhat you’re doing or feeling
How to set itClick status dot → pick a stateClick status dot → type text
Automatically changesCan go idle automaticallyNever changes automatically
You can have an Online status of “Busy” with a custom status of “in a meeting 🤫”, both coexist.

​
Custom Status Best Practices

Not necessarily, many people leave it blank and it’s totally fine. Custom status is a casual, expressive feature. Use it when you feel like it, not as an obligation.
Short is better. A custom status should be readable at a glance, one line, maybe 5-15 words. Think of it as a caption, not a paragraph.
Your custom status visibility follows your Presence privacy settings. If your presence is set to “Friends Only,” only friends will see your custom status.