How to disable the typing notification in Slack

Improve your focus in 3 easy steps

By Grace Montgomery · March 8, 2022

Just like your manager should never just text you hi, no one should ever leave you hanging in typing limbo. But if you're a regular Slack user, you've probably found yourself waiting while your coworker writes their version of Moby-Dick.

Slack message box with "Krystina is typing..." under it

And if you're like me, you probably think the longer it takes to type, the worse the message is going to be. Am I about to get fired?

So I tried an experiment recently. What if I just turn it off? Would my productivity boom while my anxiety took a nap?

Here's how to turn off the who is currently typing setting in Slack.

Open up the Preferences menu.
Go to the Messages & media menu, then scroll down to Additional options.
Uncheck the box next to Display information about who is currently typing a message.

Keep reading for screenshots.

How to ignore who's typing in Slack

1. Open the main menu for your Slack workspace, and go to Preferences.

2. Then go to the Messages & media menu and scroll down to Additional options. Resist the urge to update all of your other settings along the way. (Or do it. I won't judge.)

Additional options in the Messages & Media section in Slack

3. Once you're there, uncheck the box next to Display information about who is currently typing a message, and you're done.

Display information about who is currently typing box

Now enjoy living in blissful ignorance about who is writing a novel about how you screwed up in that last meeting.

Care less while being more productive

So how did turning it off work out for me? It took a little while to get used to.

Slack message from Grace: "Day 1: I am stressed that I don't know if people are typing. I am maybe spending more time waiting to see if they'll write something, but we'll see how this goes after I get used to it."

But after a couple of days, it started to improve.

Slack message from Grace: "I think I've moved beyond anxiety but not quite to serenity"

And now, a few weeks in, I spend way less time waiting for replies. And really, when the message finally does arrive, it's usually a cat GIF anyway. It can wait until Monday.

Related content:

Get productivity tips delivered straight to your inbox

We’ll email you 1-3 times per week—and never share your information.

Grace Montgomery

Grace Montgomery is a Managing Editor at Zapier and lives in Vancouver, Washington. When she's not playing with words, you can find her researching fashion history or trying out mid-century recipes.

tags

Team chat

Personal productivity

mentioned apps

Slack

Up next

Automation with Zapier

How to automatically update your Slack status

Global teams mean someone's working at any given minute—but it also means someone's offline, too. Here's how to keep your status up to date automatically.