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Invisible Command This document specifies an XMPP-compatible protocol for user invisibility. &LEGALNOTICE; 0186 Experimental Standards Track Standards XMPP Core XMPP IM XEP-0030 None None invisibility &stpeter; 0.4 2006-08-09 psa

Added XMPP Registrar considerations and XML schema.

 0.3 2006-08-02 psa

Added inbound presence rule to server handling section.

 0.2 2006-07-07 psa

Clarified that invisibility mode does not carry across sessions.

 0.1 2006-05-30 psa

Initial version.

 0.0.2 2006-05-15 psa

Recommended delivery of messages sent to bare JID.

 0.0.1 2006-05-11 psa

First draft.

Jabber instant messaging technologies have long supported the ability for IM users to be online but appear invisible. The existing protocols for doing so are:

In order to provide a standards-compliant protocol that can be used in the long term, this document defines an IQ-based protocol that enables an IM user to "go invisible" and "go visible" at will within the context of a given session.

The requirements for invisible mode are straightforward:

  1. A user should be able to become visible or invisible at any time within an XMPP session.
  2. Invisible mode is active only for the current session; if the user ends that session and starts another session, the invisibility set for the previous session does not carry over to the new session.
  3. When in invisible mode, a user should be able to send directed presence to particular contacts.

In order for a client to discover whether its server supports the protocol defined herein, it MUST send a &xep0030; information request to the server:

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If the server supports the protocol defined herein, it MUST return a feature of "http://jabber.org/protocol/invisibility":

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A client SHOULD complete this service discovery process before sending initial presence to its server.

In order for a client to go invisible, it shall send an IQ-set with no 'to' address (thus handled by the user's server) containing an <invisible/> element qualified by the 'http://jabber.org/protocol/invisibility' namespace:

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If the server can successfully process the invisibility command, it MUST return an IQ-result:

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(Standard XMPP stanza errors apply; see RFC 3920 and &xep0086;.)

If the client enters invisible mode after having previously sent undirected presence with no 'type' attribute (e.g., after sending initial presence), the server MUST send &UNAVAILABLE; presence from the client's resource to all contacts who would receive unavailable presence if the client sent &UNAVAILABLE;.

While the client is in invisible mode, the server:

  1. MUST NOT broadcast presence notifications as a result of receiving any subsequent undirected presence notifications from the client.

  2. MUST deliver directed presence stanzas generated by the client.

  3. MUST deliver inbound &PRESENCE; stanzas.

  4. SHOULD deliver inbound &MESSAGE; stanzas whose 'to' address is the bare JID of the user (subject to standard XMPP stanza handling rules).

  5. MUST deliver inbound &MESSAGE; and &IQ; stanzas whose 'to' address is the resource of the client.

  6. MUST deliver outbound &MESSAGE; and &IQ; stanzas generated by the client (for an important note regarding presence leaks, see the Security Considerations section of this document).

If after sending directed presence the client then sends &UNAVAILABLE;, the server MUST deliver that unavailable presence only to the entities to which the client sent directed presence after going invisible.

In order for a client to become visible again, it shall send an IQ-set with no 'to' address (thus handled by the user's server) containing a <visible/> element qualified by the 'http://jabber.org/protocol/invisibility' namespace:

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If the server can successfully process the visibility command, it MUST return an IQ-result:

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When the client becomes visible, the server MUST treat that state as equivalent to an active session before receiving initial presence from the client. It is the responsibility of the client to send an undirected presence notification to the server, which the server MUST broadcast to all entities who would normally receive presence broadcasts from the client (as well as any other entities to which the client sent directed presence while invisible).

It is possible to leak presence while in invisible mode (for example, by sending a message, IQ, or presence stanza to a contact). A client SHOULD warn a user before allowing the client to generate any outbound traffic and MUST NOT respond to IQ requests received from entities with which it has not initiated communications while in invisible mode (e.g., by sending messages, IQs, or directed presence).

No interaction with &IANA; is required as a result of this document.

The ®ISTRAR; shall include 'http://jabber.org/protocol/invisibility' in its registry of protocol namespaces (see &NAMESPACES;).

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