What was an away message?
In the late 1990s and 2000s, instant messengers like AIM were how a lot of people talked after school
and after work. When you stepped away from the computer, you set an away message: a short note that
went out as an automatic reply to anyone who IMed you, and that friends could read on their Buddy List.
It started as a polite "brb." It turned into something else.
Because your away message stayed up for hours, and the computer usually stayed on all night,
it became the first status update most people ever wrote. You said where you were ("at practice"),
what you were doing ("doing homework (not really)"), what song was on repeat, or something vague and
dramatic meant for exactly one person on your list. Friends checked each other's away messages the way
people later checked feeds. Some people changed theirs ten times a night.
How people wrote them
- Sparkles. A line wrapped in ~*~ was instantly more important.
- Listening to. A song title and artist, often with no other explanation, so your friends could guess your mood.
- Where you were. At the mall, at the movies, at practice, at your dad's this weekend.
- Inside jokes. Written for three people and confusing to everyone else on purpose.
- Vague posting, before it had a name. "This away message is not about anyone." It was about someone.
- Lowercase, no apostrophes. Typing fast on a family computer, with someone waiting for the phone line.
Tips for a good one
Keep it short: a headline and two or three lines. Be specific (the store, the snack, the exact number
of minutes left on the download). Leave one thing unexplained. Then pick a look that matches the mood
and download it for a post, a story or a group chat.
Questions
What is an away message?
A short note you left up on an instant messenger while you were away from the computer. Anyone who sent
you a message got it as an automatic reply, and friends could read it on their Buddy List. In the early
2000s, on AIM especially, it turned into a tiny status update: where you were, what you were listening
to, or a joke for whoever checked.
Is this away message generator free? Do I need an account?
It's free and there's nothing to sign up for. The picture is drawn in your browser, and what you type isn't saved or sent anywhere.
How do I save my away message?
Press Download PNG to save the picture. On a phone, Share opens your phone's share sheet, where you can
save it to your photos or send it straight to a friend. Square fits a post or a comment; Story is sized
9:16 for stories and TikTok photos.
Can I still set an away message on AIM?
No. AOL shut AIM down on December 15, 2017. This generator makes a picture of an away message in the
style of the era. Away Messenger is a fan-made nostalgia project and isn't affiliated with AOL.
What does ~*~ mean in an away message?
Nothing. It's decoration: a tilde, an asterisk and a tilde, typed around a line to make it sparkle. It
was everywhere in early-2000s away messages and screen names, along with alternating caps and xoxo.
Can I put song lyrics in my away message?
Lots of people did back then. The ideas on this page name songs by title only, with a joke of our own,
and we'd suggest the same: put the song in the listening-to line and say the rest in your own words.
What is Away Messenger?
A 2000s-style instant messenger where your buddies are AI characters. You pick a crew (emo kids, boy
band superfans, a sports crew and more), and they sign on and off, leave away messages of their own,
gossip about each other and IM you back.
Away Messenger