# Is there a way to hide Seen column?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [July 29, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411 "2018-07-29T14:08:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![hosna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/hosna/32/99969_2.png) [@hosna](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hosna)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/1 "2018-07-29T14:08:55Z")

</div>

Some of my users dont like this option:

![Screenshot_2018-07-29%20How%20to%20hide%20users%20column%20on%20latest%20](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/optimized/3X/2/4/2499c718b3d0116c74dee2b93557f79c22486df5_2_690x23.png)

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### Author: ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/2 "2018-07-30T02:33:17Z")

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Per user, no we do not have this option, you can suppress it globally via CSS.

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### Author: ![tshenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tshenry/32/119495_2.png) [@tshenry](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tshenry)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/3 "2018-07-30T22:03:11Z")

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If hiding it for all users in an option, this would be the CSS to globally suppress the “last seen” user profile stat:

```plaintext
// Hide the "Last Seen" section of the user profile
.user-main .about .secondary dl div:nth-child(3) {
    display: none;
}

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Hang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/hang/32/157079_2.png) [@Hang](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Hang)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/4 "2019-09-25T21:59:11Z")

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Hi! I am working on a Discourse instance that wants to invite people from various backgrounds and wants to provide a safe, secure and trusting environment.  
I am wondering if in the future you would consider having a setting to globally turn off the Seen information (in group lists and anywhere else)? We would like to give a promise to our users that no other user can see when they were last online (i.e. the information is also not accessible when inspecting the html).

If the answer is no, I wonder if you can give advice for how to go about what I mentioned above? I am still quite new to this, so I would like to know if it’s best to hire someone to edit the source code or would a plugin or a component work?

Thank you very much!

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Remah](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/remah/32/70590_2.png) [@Remah](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Remah)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2019, 5:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/5 "2019-09-26T05:51:47Z")

</div>

> [@Hang](#):
>
> having a setting to globally turn off the Seen information (in group lists and anywhere else)?

I’m not sure about your actual question but this discussion relates to your issue:

> [@Restrict public viewing of user profile](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restrict-public-viewing-of-user-profile/21098/12):
>
> The concern in my community is that there is no option to restrict the “last post” or “joined” dates. Especially the first one can be a bit problematic - in our old forum software, one could choose to hide one’s online presence. Now, everyone can check when I last posted something online - even without registering.

It documents the setting that hides the user card:  
`hide_user_profiles_from_public`

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Hang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/hang/32/157079_2.png) [@Hang](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Hang)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/6 "2019-09-30T21:40:52Z")

</div>

Thank you for your comment!  
We already hide the user cards, I think that’s a good feature.  
However, I am concerned that in the future people in my community will want to hide the “seen” information even from logged in users. So, I just wanted to check what our options are if that time comes.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![nukeador](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/nukeador/32/107477_2.png) [@nukeador](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nukeador)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2022, 11:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/7 "2022-08-18T11:52:04Z")

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> [@Hang](#):
>
> However, I am concerned that in the future people in my community will want to hide the “seen” information even from logged in users. So, I just wanted to check what our options are if that time comes.

Sorry for the bump,. but I haven’t been able to find any recent post talking about this. Being able to hide some of the “seen” and “presence” information even from logged in users, as a way to provide more privacy to users.

Are there any new settings to control this? Should we open a feature request?

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![j127](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/j127/32/79093_2.png) [@j127](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j127)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 12:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/8 "2025-01-19T00:28:49Z")

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Is it possible to add CSS classes to allow hiding the last seen time for specific users?

I want to hide it for my profile, because people send me messages and then are able to see when I’m last online. It’s just awkward if I don’t reply for a couple of days (not enough time for me to get to everything right away) but they can see that I’m online recently as they repeatedly check my profile, sometimes because I just have a tab open somewhere but am not checking the site.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![tvavrda](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tvavrda/32/480674_2.png) [@tvavrda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tvavrda)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/9 "2025-01-19T03:53:19Z")

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I believe nobody should expect anyone to do anything just by being present. It’s your life and you have your duties. So I guess it would help to set boundaries, e.g. by writing them in your profile. Like “I am a busy person and I reply to you within a week”. Or “Please only expect me to answer questions about X and Y, for the rest wait for the community”.

So I think it is more of a problem of the other people. Like if they would see you somewhere in real life and rush to you with something very important you have to do right now!

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![j127](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/j127/32/79093_2.png) [@j127](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j127)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 8:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/10 "2025-01-19T08:42:33Z")

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It’s more complicated than that, but I’m not able to explain in detail. The pressure can be immense.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![NateDhaliwal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/natedhaliwal/32/313494_2.png) [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 9:10am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/11 "2025-01-19T09:10:25Z")

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I agree with this. Sometimes I’m the one doing the checking, so I feel jumpy when I know that user is online, but hasn’t replied to me.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Canapin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/canapin/32/119591_2.png) [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 11:44am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/12 "2025-01-19T11:44:44Z")

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Not possible with pure CSS, no node path can use your username to target the “last seen” elements.

With javascript, this should work:

```js
<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="1.4.0">
  function hideLastSeen() {
    if (location.pathname.startsWith("/u/j127")) {
      document.querySelectorAll(".last-seen-at").forEach(el => el.remove());
    }
  }

  api.onPageChange(hideLastSeen);

  document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", hideLastSeen);
</script>

```

Courtesy of A.I.

* * *

For future readers, look at the [better script below](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/17) that prevents wrong targeting of users (to avoid targeting user named “johndoe” if using `.startsWith("/u/john")`.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![tvavrda](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tvavrda/32/480674_2.png) [@tvavrda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tvavrda)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 12:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/13 "2025-01-19T12:52:17Z")

</div>

Would this stop working with [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true) on?

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Canapin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/canapin/32/119591_2.png) [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/14 "2025-01-19T13:25:09Z")

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Yes. The admin can disable the [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true) for non-staff if necessary 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![tvavrda](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tvavrda/32/480674_2.png) [@tvavrda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tvavrda)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/15 "2025-01-19T13:26:34Z")

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But a curious user could still read the info from the json response, right?

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Canapin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/canapin/32/119591_2.png) [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/16 "2025-01-19T13:39:50Z")

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Yes. As a client side only customization, it’s always a “soft barrier”. Users may or may not be determined (and knowledgeable) enough to exploit this weakness.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![j127](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/j127/32/79093_2.png) [@j127](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j127)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-hide-seen-column/93411/17 "2025-01-19T16:38:57Z")

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Thanks that works.

**Edit:** I changed it to this to make it case insensitive:

```html
<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="1.4.0">
    function shouldHideLastSeen() {
        const p = location.pathname.toLowerCase();
        return p === "/u/username" || p.startsWith("/u/username/");
    }

    function hideLastSeen() {
        if (shouldHideLastSeen()) {
            document.querySelectorAll(".last-seen-at").forEach(el => el.remove());
        }
    }

    api.onPageChange(hideLastSeen);
    document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", hideLastSeen);
</script>

```