When Discord was created, the target users were gamers who wanted to share their experiences with others. To encourage continuous connection with Discord activities while playing a game, Discord created the overlay feature. With the overlay feature, gamers can have their games on full screen but still relate with Discord. As useful as the feature is, there are times when you will want to turn off Discord overlay.
Utilizing Discord overlay properly requires knowing its pros and cons. The pros include responding to messages and participating in server activities without leaving your game. On the other hand, the con is mainly distraction as the overlay may prevent full immersion in the game. For this reason, some gamers prefer to disable Discord overlay when they play without streaming.
If you are one of such gamers, this guide will teach you how to turn off Discord overlay. You will learn how to turn off overlay generally for all games and turn it off for specific games. However, before we disable Discord overlay, we have highlighted some things you may want to know about the feature.
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The common Discord Overlay problems
You are most likely reading this guide to learn how to turn off Discord overlay. Before we get to it, you should know why the problem happens in the first place. After that, we will look through some other common problems you may have with Discord overlay. Let’s get to it.
Overlay Not Disabling
The causes of the problem are closely linked to the solutions. For example, overlay not disabling may be a problem from your Discord app, computer or internet connection. You need to know the exact problem to find the most suitable solution. There is no cause for alarm as the next section will teach you several fixes for overlay, not disabling.
Overlay Not Enabling
Conversely, there is the occasional situation when the overlay feature does not come on as you navigate from Discord to your game app. This glitch will prevent you from chatting with your friends on Discord as you play your game.
Other common Discord overlay problems include Discord 404 error when booting the app, Discord overlay flickering and overlay affecting FPS.
How to disable Discord Overlay?
We have gotten to the part most people come online to research; how to disable Discord overlay. As we mentioned earlier, you can disable Discord overlay generally. This will stop overlay from working at all, and this is how to go about it:
1. Open Discord
Discord overlay works in every version of Discord, whether browser or app. Therefore, you can launch your Discord app on your computer or log into your account from a browser. This will be the first step to disabling Discord overlay.
2. Go to User Settings
Next, you should click on user settings. “User settings” is represented by the gear symbol near your username. This is usually at the bottom left corner of your screen, but there may be slight differences, depending on your mode of accessing Discord.
3. Click on “Overlay” or “Game Overlay”
After going to User Settings, you will see a sidebar with a list of sections. Find the Overlay or Game Overlay section and click on it. The option may be in activity settings, so you can check if you do not see it among the options listed in the main settings.
4. Turn off the “Enable In-Game Overlay” toggle
Once you open the Overlay settings, you will see a toggle labeled “Enable in-game overlay”. For example, if the toggle button is green, it means that the overlay is on. Toggle it off to disable the game overlay in Discord.
You can also use the shortcut keys specified in front of the icon to enable or disable game overlay quickly without opening settings.
5. Check by Launching a Game
Following the steps explained above should turn off Discord overlay, and you can check for yourself. Next, minimize Discord and launch a game. After that, the game app should run smoothly without being interfered with by Discord overlay.
The solution above is for turning off Discord overlay for all games. The next one will help you turn the feature off for a particular game.
How to disable Discord Overlay for specific games
Using this option will prevent you from enabling and disabling overlay for different games, which can be frustrating. You can enable overlay for some games and disable it for the ones that require your concentration or total immersion. Here is how you can disable Discord overlay for one game:
1. Open Discord and go to User Settings
Launch the Discord app, then click on the gear icon next to your profile picture on the bottom left side. This opens the User Settings.
2. Click on Game Activity/Activity Status
To disable overlay for specific games, click on Activity Status from the sidebar. Doing this will display a list of all the games in your Discord library.
3. Select Games that shouldn’t display the Discord overlay
Once you see all your games, you can select the ones you want to use with the overlay feature and those that should work without any disturbance from the feature.
To make a game use Discord Overlay, click on the Add it button, and select the game.
To remove a game from Discord overlay, hover over the game’s name under the Added Games section, then click on the X button.
4. Check to see if it works
The solution usually works in most situations, but you can cross-check to ensure that it does. For example, launch one of the games you have turned overlay off for and see if the feature still bothers you.
Knowing how to turn off Discord overlay will go a long way in how much you enjoy playing games when Discord runs in the background. In addition to turning off Discord overlay, you can also customize its appearance to accommodate the interface of the game app you are running. Knowing these hacks will take you closer to enjoying the full extent of Discord features.
