What is Slack Auto-Away?
Quick Definition
Slack auto-away is the automatic system that switches your presence status from active (green) to away (yellow) after a period of inactivity. Slack typically triggers this after approximately 10 minutes with no interaction.
Understanding Slack Auto-Away
Slack monitors activity signals from your connected devices—mouse movements, keyboard input, and app interactions. When none of these signals are detected for roughly 10 minutes, Slack assumes you've stepped away and updates your presence to 'away'. This happens independently on each device; if your desktop goes away but your phone shows activity, you might still appear active. The exact timing isn't published by Slack and may vary. The auto-away feature was introduced early in Slack's history to give teams accurate availability signals. It works by monitoring input events within the Slack application itself—not general computer activity. This is an important distinction: moving your mouse in a browser or another application doesn't reset Slack's inactivity timer. Only direct interaction with the Slack window or app counts. On mobile, the behavior is even more aggressive because iOS and Android suspend background apps to save battery, often marking you away within minutes of switching to another app. Slack has never provided an official setting to disable or adjust the auto-away timer, making it one of the most frequently requested features in Slack's feedback forums. For teams that rely on presence as a collaboration signal, auto-away creates friction when team members are actively working but appear unavailable.
Key Points
- Triggers after approximately 10 minutes of inactivity
- Cannot be officially disabled in Slack settings
- Works independently across your connected devices
- Resets when you interact with any Slack client
- Different from manually setting yourself away
Examples
Reading a document
If you're reading a long document in another app and don't touch Slack for 10 minutes, auto-away will trigger even though you're working.
In a meeting without Slack
During a video call where you're not actively using Slack, auto-away will likely trigger unless you occasionally interact with Slack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off Slack auto-away?
How long before Slack marks me away?
Does Slack auto-away work differently on mobile?
How Idle Pilot Helps
Idle Pilot prevents Slack auto-away during your scheduled work hours by maintaining presence from the cloud. This means you can focus on deep work, attend meetings, or step away briefly without worrying about your status flipping to away.
Try Idle Pilot freeRelated Terms
Slack presence is the indicator (green or yellow dot) next to your name showing whether you're currently active or away in Slack. It's automatically determined by Slack based on your recent activity and connection status.
The green dot in Slack is a presence indicator showing that a person is currently active. It appears as a solid green circle next to their profile picture and name, indicating they've recently interacted with Slack.
A presence scheduler is a tool that automatically maintains your Slack presence status (active/online) during specified time windows, typically matching your work hours. Unlike mouse jigglers or scripts, modern presence schedulers run from the cloud.