What Does Idle Mean on Discord and How To Set it Up

Discord is one of the world’s best-known and highly appreciated instant messaging apps.
The company takes user-friendliness seriously, so it’s implementing many cool features. 

One of them is the “Idle” activity status.

But what does idle mean on Discord?

Dive right in to discover what it stands for and how it improves the overall experience!

What Does Idle Mean on Discord?

It means the user is not currently active and hasn’t interacted with the app for approximately 10 minutes. 

This doesn’t mean they have signed out or are disconnected from the servers. It signals that they are simply “AFK” or away from the keyboard. However, they may be working on something else while the app is running in the background.

The Idle status performs just like the Online mode. Notifications come up normally, and you can use Discord as usual. Nonetheless, there’s a difference between the two. Idle informs people of your inactivity so they can expect a delayed reply.

That’s pretty much what “idle” on Discord is.

How to Set Idle on Discord for PC

Changing your current status on Windows or macOS is quite easy. 

The app can detect your activity on its servers and set your status accordingly. If you don’t interact with it, Discord will auto “idle” your status within approximately 10 minutes of inactivity. When there’s mouse movement within the window again, it’ll put you back into online mode. 

However, you can also set it manually by following these simple steps:

1. Open the Discord app or go to the website.

2. Click on your avatar.

3. Select “Idle” to set it as your status. 

That’s it! An orange crescent moon now marks your avatar.

To disable Discord’s “Idle” status, follow the same steps, but select a different activity mode.

How to Set Idle on Discord for Mobile 

You can also change your Discord user status on Android and iOS devices. The former’s version of the app is almost the same as the latter.

How to set it on an Android device:

1. Open the app.
2. Tap on the three lines in the top left corner of the home screen.
   
3. Select your avatar.
   
   
4. Tap on the “Set Status” button.
   
   
5. Next, tap on the “Idle” option.
   
   

You’re all set and ready to go “AFK”. Once again, an orange crescent moon will appear within your avatar frame to signal that you are idle.

How to set it on an iOS device

Setting it on an iOS device like iPhone/iPad is the same as on an Android OS.

1. Open the app on your device.
2. Tap on the three lines in the top left corner of the home screen.
3. Select your avatar.
4. Tap on the “Set Status” button.
5. Tap on the “Idle” option.

Wrap Up

In conclusion, the idle status signals a currently inactive Discord account. 

It’s useful because it displays your user status and shows that you’re currently "AFK" and may reply with а delay.

It takes approximately 10 minutes of inactivity to go idle. 

However, you can set it manually from the settings menu and continue exploring the instant messaging app without disruptions. You can still use it as in Online mode and make video and voice calls without changing your Discord activity status. 

You can also set it on your PC and any iOS or Android device.

Now that you know what the Discord idle status is, how to enable and stop it, you’re ready to start idling away.