Not Away

Almost all messaging apps out there automatically change your status to 'Away' as soon as they detect your computer is idle.

If you want to regain control over your own status message, you can try Not Away, a handy app that was designed with this sole purpose in mind.

One of the main benefits of using this utility is that it is a portable one. This means that you can store it on your removable USB drive and launch it on any computer you are currently working on.

It automatically goes in the system tray, so it does not clutter the taskbar in any way. You can also set it to run at Windows startup, so you no longer need to remember to run it when you open your computer.

The main window of Not Away is not only user-friendly, but also minimalist, so as to help even novices understand the features they have at their disposal.

For instance, you can still allow your default messenger to switch your status to 'Away' after a pre-defined period of time or you can prevent it altogether.

If you are looking for a less radical approach, you can set up a schedule according to your working hours.

More specifically, you can set Not Away to prevent any status message change on certain week days, between specific hours. This way, no additional intervention from your part is required in the future.

Not Away can help you make sure your status message does not get automatically updated every time you leave your computer unattended. You can create schedule according to your timetable even if you are no tech-savvy user.