Disable 'observe' mode

Voted, and can’t wait for it to be implemented.

Disable Observer mode plus I don’t want people watch me live while I’m working on any file they won’t be able to view my live changes they can only see when I update or something like that but it’s really annoying that you working and someone is looking what are you doing most of times I lose my focus as well.
There should be something like Live Mode
When we disable it nobody can see my cursor or live changes.

I commented on this thread 2 years ago and still want this!

Please fix this Figma

Need this so bad bc of micromanagers who hinder productivity.

Well, new to Figma. But this is weird. So… time to look at Pixso and Penpot. Also, I’m a dev but I thought, “Hmmm… Figma might be a fun ‘side hustle’ that would be different”. But on learning about this… no way. Apparently I was thinking of working with a tool, possibly on teams, that exposes me while working to everyone. I can’t imagine having managers stare at my pointer in VSCode or in a word processor or in an email program. Why would I want it here?

I agree to that!

yesss, please let us work haha. a stealth mode would also be cool, maybe with a timer. hide me & my changes for [1 hour]. thank you @Celine_Figma for re-opening this.

This issue needs to stay alive and a priority. When a file is being worked on with a good number who “can view”, outside the context of productive collaborations, the presence of some who hang around becomes an annoyance while design work is in progress. Figma PMs take this seriously. It affects design culture within an organization.

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Please Do!

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Maybe create a new project, create or edit something, and then copy and paste it into the main project.

If cursors are hidden to others… the square, or color adjustments that I just made will still be seen as they’re created. Right? So…

It’s been 3 years, how have they not moved the needle on this?

At this very moment I’m avoiding looking at a design file precisely because I don’t want to disturb the designer currently working on it. The lack of this feature is actively harming our process.

In this landscape, where the sanctity of one’s work should be sacrosanct, Figma’s neglect is not just an oversight; it’s a heart-wrenching failure. It’s a gut-wrenching betrayal of trust, a stark reminder that in the digital age, privacy and security is not merely a feature but a lifeline – one that Figma has severed, leaving creators stranded in a state of perpetual vulnerability.

This critical privacy feature, which should have been the cornerstone of Figma’s Dev Mode release, is glaringly absent. Dev Mode was meant to be a beacon of hope, promising to revolutionize collaboration among UX, Dev, and QA teams. Yet, without this essential protection, it has become a fragile illusion.

The specter of exposure haunts every design session, every shared project, casting a dark shadow over creativity and collaboration. The promise of seamless teamwork now feels like a cruel joke, as the very tools meant to empower you instead leave you exposed and defenseless.

I absolutely agree with all of you guys.
This is a violation of privacy!
Doesn’t it remind you of the Eye of Sauron ?!
This “innocent” watching can be used for controlling workers/designers as well, and it looks like this is the main purpose. Observation mode, other than that, has no real use case.
And Figma not listening to designers, who have been their customers for many years now, is really sad, especially with all the money they have!
This is how evil operates.
It looks so innocent and fancy “shmancy,” but in fact, if I look from a higher perspective,
I can see:
FIGMA is EVIL!

Introducing an Invisible Mode for Figma to enhance user privacy. This feature allows users to work without showing their online status, preventing others from following their activity. Perfect for focused, distraction-free design sessions.

This would be great, even if it was the ability to just turn off someone from following you. I’ve had this with a colleague numerous times. They don’t seem to take a hint even after being told a few times already. Now I just leave a message on Figma saying “Hello x” and wait for them to find it. It’s a great feature for collaboration, but it can be used for miscellaneous intentions.

This is pretty sad… we’re in 2024 and still, we don’t have a privacy mode. Please give us our privacy back - as designers (…and anyone else using Figma).

We should be able to choose when we want to share our screen and not…

I have to go offline, edit the file, and then go online if I do not want to be followed in the Figma file.

Adding my name to the pile here.

It’s ridiculous that we cannot control who is able to see our actions in our own files. Please resolve this Figma.

I hate this. I would like the ability simply to hide the facepile in the UI so that I don’t know who is watching even if they are. It’s so distracting seeing multiple team users come and go. I just want to work in peace even if there are lots of other people looking at the file.

My temporary fix of multiple layers of post it note over the facepile seems to be working, but doesn’t scale well to other apps when I change windows.

Simply change you name to ‘Guest’ and nobody knows who they are looking at 🙂

I figured out a way to hid the facepile of people looking at a document, which is all I really want at this point in time as it gives me massive anxiety every time I see heads popping in and out of a document.

Go to File → Plugins → Development → Show / Hide Console

Then add the following to the stylesheet

[data-onboarding-key="multiplayer-avatars"] {
    display: none;
} 

Doesn’t persist through restarts, but hopefully if I do it at the start of the day it’ll last the day.

Hi all. Is there any news/progress on this? As a newcomer to Figma I find it pretty disturbing that other people in an organisation can literally sit and watch you work. How is this even a thing!??