How to Sign Out of iMessage on Mac

iMessages are one of the keystones of the Apple ecosystem; they differ from standard text messages as iMessages can only be exchanged between Apple devices such as an iPhone, iPad, or a Mac. In this post, we will see, how to sign out of iMessage on Mac?

The messages and other media sent over iMessage are encrypted and appear as blue text bubbles instead of green ones when you text a person who’s not using an Apple device. 

Like all other Apple applications, iMessages, too, are wholly integrated with its ecosystem. Suppose someone texts you on your iPhone. If your sync is turned out, you should also be getting those messages to your Mac. Furthermore, you can text using your laptop itself. 

However, this seamless experience is not to everyone’s taste. If you find constant iMessage notifications annoying, or you don’t want to sync your messages on your Mac. Moreover, you can permanently disable notifications or completely sign out of iMessage from your Mac. 

How to Sign Out of iMessage on Mac

The process to sign out of iMessage on Mac is relatively simple and only takes a couple of seconds. Furthermore, you can check out all the steps mentioned here and apply them on your mac as well.

• Log in to your Mac
• Find and open the Messages app. The app should already be present on your dock. If you can’t find it on the dock, open the Finder and click on Applications in the menu on the left-hand side. Furthermore, scroll down till you find Messages and open it. 
• Now with the app open, click on Messages on the Menu Bar. It should be to the right of the Apple Logo. 
• Select Preferences from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can use the Command-Comma shortcut to open Preferences too. 

• Select the tab which says iMessage.
• You can disable the iMessage temporarily by unchecking the box that reads  Enable this account. 
• Press on Sign out right beside your Apple ID to log out of iMessage on your Mac, and you’re done.

This is it. Once you tap on Sign out, your account will be logged out from the iMessage app on your Mac. Furthermore, following the same steps, you can also log in again to your account.

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How to Sign Out of iMessage on Mac – Using the Do-Not-Disturb Feature

You can use the Do-Not-Disturb function on your Mac if you do not want to be constantly bombarded with text messages whenever they come. Refer to the steps below to do that. 

• Log in to your Mac. 
• Find the Settings app from the dock and open it. 
• Click on the Notifications & Focus tab, and a new window will open up with two tabs named Notifications and the other one Focus.

• Inside the Notifications tab, you will see  Messages on your apps list on the left-hand side. 
• Click on the Messages app, and if you want entirely to switch off its notifications, uncheck the allow notifications option. 

Several secondary options exist within the Notifications window. Such as allowing time-sensitive alerts, showing notifications on the lock screen, and playing a sound when a notification is received. 

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Focus: The Do-Not-Disturb feature’s extension

Focus was introduced in the Mac with the new macOS Monterey, which allows you to limit the number of notifications you receive per day. You can choose a time that fits your schedule, and people or apps will only be permitted to send you notifications within that time period.  

Also, it can quickly become irritating if you’re constantly getting messages and notifications while at the office or somewhere you can’t attend to your phone. 

Focus allows you to choose and pick the apps and people you want to receive notifications. Moreover, it also features automation that will enable you to add time, location, or app-based automation. 

You can use Focus to mute iMessages as well for a particular time or while you’re at a specific place using time or location-based automation. 

Refer to these steps below to do that.

• Log in to your Mac.
• Hover the cursor over to the Menu Bar and select the Apple logo. 
• Click on System Preferences from the menu. 
• Press the Notifications & Focus tab. 
• Click on Focus when the new window opens up. 
• You will see a “Turn on Automatically” section at the bottom of the window. Click on the + icon.
• Select  Add App-Based Automation.

• Scroll down till you find the Messages app and click on Add.

As soon as you click on add, all your messages will be muted for a particular amount of time or whatever settings you make afterward.

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Is it possible to unpair your number from iMessage on Mac?

You can disconnect your number from iMessage so that people cannot reach or text you on that number anymore. Or else follow the steps given below to disconnect your number from iMessage.

• Log in to your Mac and open the Messages app from the dock or the Finder. 
• On the Menu Bar right beside the Apple logo, select Messages. 
• Select Preferences from the drop-down menu. 
• Click on the iMessage tab. 
• You will see a You can be reached for messages section; uncheck your phone number beside it. 

How to Change your Account on iMessages?

Well, apart from all the methods we have tried to sign out of iMessage on Mac, you can also then choose to change the current account you are using. Here are the steps you can follow for the same.

• Log in to your Mac
• Open the Messages app and press Command-Comma to open the Preferences. 
• From there, click on the iMessage tab.
• Click on Sign out, which should be right beside your current Apple ID. 
• Enter the new Apple ID that you want to use on your Mac, and you’re done. 

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Conclusion

We hope this article helped you grasp how to sign out of iMessage on Mac in various ways and also how you can use Focus to stagger your notifications intuitively.

Although the process is pretty simple to carry out and hardly takes a few minutes or even seconds once you understand how it’s done, it is also important that you go through the entire guide and then follow through.