Hey guys, a quick note (as of 7/19/17). Tumblr just added a ‘feature’ that shows if you’re online or not by putting a colored icon over part of your avatar. The only place I see it right now is in the messenger, though it might be elsewhere.
It’s showing a friend as online even though they just have a tumblr tab open that they haven’t looked at in hours. It also shows how long ago they were active. I don’t know how it interacts with the app.
I have a few problems with this:
I personally don’t like the feeling of being stalked
People could actually stalk you
Person A could get mad at Person B because it said Person B was online but they weren’t (and thus didn’t respond) – or just wasn’t up to talking
Person X could message Person Y and get anxious when person Y doesn’t respond, since it says they’re online
I found the place to turn it off in account settings. There’s a section called “Availability” where you can toggle off the functionality.
EDIT: (since some people are saying they don’t see it) Tumblr rolls out updates in waves so you might not have it yet. Just keep an eye out.
Safe browsing, folks.
Reblogging to add the info that if you don’t see it yet, it’s just because tumblr rolls out updates in waves. The original messenger functionality came out in waves too – everybody didn’t get it at once. You’ll see it soon!
Lady Jace Of The Fae 