How Does Slack Decide When You're Away?
Deep dive into Slack's presence detection system, explaining exactly how and when your status changes from active to away.
Slack's presence detection can seem unpredictable. Here's what we understand about how it might work.
Basic Patterns We've Observed
Desktop: Appears to go idle after ~10 minutes without interaction
Mobile: Seems to show active only when app is open
Web: May behave differently than desktop app
Multiple devices: Recent activity typically takes priority
What Slack Likely Tracks
Based on user reports:
- • Clicks and typing within Slack
- • Scrolling in conversations
- • Possibly WebSocket heartbeat signals
Slack probably doesn't monitor activity outside its app.
Common Issues Users Report
- • Status not matching actual activity
- • Different status on different devices
- • Delays in status updates
Privacy Considerations
Workspace admins may be able to see:
- • Active vs away time (aggregated)
- • General activity patterns
They likely cannot see specific keystrokes or screen content.
These are observations from user experience—actual behavior may vary by workspace.
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