Why cant i see last active on messenger

In this article I will explain how to tell when contacts have logged in to Facebook Messenger, even if they are not your friends through the social networking service.

It is your friend Frankie here again to tell you about another technology trick – this one involving Facebook Messenger.

If you are looking at this article, it is likely that you have sent off a message to a friend on Facebook Messenger and you have yet to get a reply. Naturally, you start to question what is going on.

Why the hell is he/she not replying to my message?

You want to know if there is a way that you can tell when someone was last active on the site and the messaging service, mainly to find out if you are getting ignored or if they legitimately have not seen the message yet to reply.

On the other hand, if you are more interested in spying on the person, you should read a separate article about how to hack Facebook Messenger (you will learn how to see who’s active on Facebook).

Back to the problem at hand, though. If you want to know the time and date of the last time your contact logged in, that is a feasible request.

If you can give me just a few minutes of your time, and try to stay awake,  can tell you how to accomplish this in a simple way.

This tutorial is going to take some of your time, but it can reach you how to see the last login on Facebook Messenger when using a smartphone/tablet and a computer.

No more need to waste time, let’s get right to it.

Frankie’s Take:

If you are checking out this article to learn how to check Messenger to investigate the suspicious behavior of your wife or husband, understand they have a wide variety of apps they might use to cheat on you, check them out.

How to See “Last Login” on Facebook Messenger

Does it interest you to view Facebook activity?

I have a few chapters of information below that can work to your advantage if you put them into practice. It is all easy steps to follow, and I have instructions from your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Smartphone or Tablet (iOS and Android)

If you wish to see the latest Messenger login with a smartphone or tablet, you can do so through its official app available on both Android and iOS.

One of the first steps is opening up your phone and navigating to the Messenger application.

If necessary, login to your account.

From the loaded screen, select an icon featuring two little men at the bottom of the page. In the new screen, you can see all of your active contacts and those recently using the service.

If a contact is currently online, you can tell by the presence of a green dot beside their name.

Anyone who is not actively using the service will have a label beside their name indicating [N] Minutes since they were last online.

If for some reason you cannot see the contact that you are trying to reach, you can utilize the direct search function.

To do this, you should tap on the search bar at the top of the display, type in the name of the contact and then select from the results the appropriate person.

Once you select the name, a chat screen will immediately open. At the top, below the name of this individual, you will see the last login information.

If you cannot see the activity of these individuals, that is likely because you have not enabled this feature in your application.

This is a surefire way to get the information that you want.

If you need to set up this feature in your app, here is how you do that:

1. Tap on your profile photo in the top left of the Messenger screen
2. Select Activity Status
3. Toggle to On Show when you’re active

If even after you have taken these steps to access the last login information of your friends and relatives on Messenger, you must consider the possibility that they chose to not make this information visible.

Frankie’s Take:

Once you have seen that the last active information has disappeared from specific contacts, it is a good idea that they prevented the visibility of this information. In short, there is little that you can do to access this information without their settings allowing it.

PC or macOS

If you are using the Messenger application on a PC or macOS device, there are ways to identify the last login using the Web Version of the service.

For starters, open up your standard browser (e.g. Chrome) and go to the Messenger homepage. If you need to, login to your account here.

When you have accessed your account, you can click on your profile picture in the top left and choose Active Contacts from this menu.

On this list, click on the name of the contact you want to see from the list that appears.

If you do not see it in the results here, you can always direct search using the search bar on the main screen of Messenger and then choosing among the results that appear.

Once you’ve done this, you can see information about the last login on the right side of the screen (dedicated to the chat) below the name of the contact on the top.

Precisely, if they are currently using the service you will see Active on Messenger, but if not, you will read Active [N] m ago.

If you cannot see the activity status of the contacts that you want, you might not have this feature enabled in your settings.

If the fault is on your end, you cannot see the last login information for any contacts.

To fix this, here is what you do:

1. Click on your profile image in the upper left corner
2. Choose Preferences from the menu that appears
3. Find Activity Status option and move the toggle to ON.
4. Confirm this selection by choosing Save.

Frankie’s Take:

If for some reason you still cannot get the information of the contacts, it is likely that they have selected not to share their last login information. If this is the case, there is nothing that you can do to obtain this information.

How to Hide Active Status on Facebook

For the sake of completion of the article, I should explain how you can opt out of showing your last login on Messenger.

You would use this information if you hoped to prevent your contacts from knowing if you are currently online or when the last time that you logged into the service was.

In the sections below, I will explain how you can accomplish this using a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Smartphone and Tablet (iOS and Android)

So, you want to hide your ‘last login’ information on Messenger with your smartphone or tablet?

One of the first steps that you ened to take once you are in the application is to click on your profile image on the top left of the main screen.

You can then locate the Activity Status option, specifically the Show When You Are Active choice to OFF.

As with nearly any setting change, you are going to be asked to confirm this decision. You can do this by choosing Turn Off, and then you’re done!

Be aware, as I have mentioned before this, removing this feature from your account makes it impossible for you to view the “last login” information for anyone else.

Frankie’s Take:

This situation is always able to get reversed. For all information and options available to you, check out my article on how to remove your login on Messenger.

PC or macOS

Now we can take a look at disabling this status information on Messenger using the Web Version of the service.

The first step once you have logged into the service and reached the home page is to click on the profile picture in the upper left.

You can then choose Preferences from the menu that pops up.

A window appears now that features the option Show Your Activity Status. You need to move this status to OFF and then confirm it by selecting Finish.

That’s all!

I would like to tell you that you can hide this “Last Login” status using the Facebook Website as well. To accomplish this, you should go to the social network homepage and login.

Once you are there, click on the three dots icon in the top right on the chat bar.

Now, choose Deactivate Activity Status on the menu that appears.

Using the box on the screen, choose whether you wish to deactivate the activity status for all contacts, for all contacts but some (and then indicated the exemptions in the appropriate field) or only for some contacts (and choose which contacts fit this need.)

You can confirm this choice with the Save button.

Note: All of the operations I have just discussed, namely anything on the Facebook website, can also similarly get performed using the Facebook application available for Windows 10.

Frankie’s Take:

You should remember, as I have mentioned before, that deactivating your activity status can make it impossible for you to see the status of others.

If you are reconsidering the choice that you have made at a later date, you can always change your mind and return to the default settings.

Viewing Last Messenger Login of Non-Friends

How do you see the last login on Facebook for people who aren’t your friends?

So I assume you now want to spy on someone’s Facebook profile.

You really can only do this in one method, and that is starting a conversation in any capacity with the intended contact.

Messenger allows you to contact and chat with individuals that are not on your friends list.

If you want to make this happen, you have to contact the person you wish to know more about and wait for them to answer you.

If you have received a message from someone who is not a friend, you will be the one required to send at least one reply before this information is available.

Frankie’s Take:

You might take an opportunity to learn a little more about the functions and features of the messaging app with my article on how Messenger works.

If a conversation has begun, you are going to be able to view the recent login information for the unsaved contact using the same approaches labeled earlier in this guide.

In any other situation, it is impossible to see the last login of a contact on Messenger you have not added as a friend.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Is ‘Last Active’ on Facebook Messenger Accurate?

Truthfully, this is not accurate to the second. Closing Facebook Messenger sometimes does not translate to the last active status for a few minutes.

If you leave the site open on your computer browser, you will always appear ‘Active Now’ even if you are not actually using the service.

Is a Green Dot Indicating Someone is Actively Chatting or That They Are on Messenger?

The dot means that the user is online but does not indicate specifically that they are chatting with anyone. It could just be that the person is browsing Facebook apps or left themselves logged in and the app open.

How Long Will It Take To Show As Inactive on Facebook?

You will turn inactive when you have not been actively using Facebook for ten consecutive minutes. As soon as you begin browsing the site again, or send a message to anyone, your status will return to ‘Available.’

How Can You Tell if Someone is Online but Appearing Offline?

There is no way to know for sure if someone is attempting to avoid detection by appearing offline while still using Facebook or Messenger. The only way to know for sure is to install a keylogger on their phone, but this action is illegal. In addition, you will need to have the target phone physically in your hand.

Is There a Way to Be Invisible Using Facebook Messenger?

Yes, there are several ways to become a ghost when you use Facebook or Facebook Messenger. I have written a long guide just about this process, so be sure to check it out.

Conclusion

I intended to explain how you can see when someone was last active on Messenger – whether you are using a smartphone or a PC.

In short, this is only going to be possible if this contact has not already chosen to disable this function and protect their privacy. Your only other options are then keyloggers or spy applications – otherwise it is impossible to obtain the information.

Hopefully I have been able to help you – but if you have any questions or concerns, leave a comment in the box below and I will be sure to get back with you.

Let me also direct you to the helpful content you will find on my YouTube channel. You will find multiple videos about the messaging apps you are using every day. Let me know you are out there by taking a minute to like us on Facebook too.

A hug,

Frankie Caruso

P.S. – There are many things that you can do with Facebook Messenger. I put it all together in single informative article. Check it out.