diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 58b8e8fc0..4372abc3a 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
   * `_converse.api.rooms.get`
   * `_converse.api.rooms.create`
 
+- The `show_only_online_users` setting has been removed.
+
 ## 5.0.4 (2019-10-08)
 - New config option [allow_message_corrections](https://conversejs.org/docs/html/configuration.html#allow-message-corrections)
   which, if set to `last`, limits editing of sent messages to the last message sent.
diff --git a/docs/source/configuration.rst b/docs/source/configuration.rst
index d28521abf..1b523f285 100644
--- a/docs/source/configuration.rst
+++ b/docs/source/configuration.rst
@@ -788,7 +788,7 @@ hide_offline_users
 
 * Default:  ``false``
 
-If set to ``true``, then don't show offline users.
+If set to ``true``, then offline users aren't shown in the roster.
 
 hide_open_bookmarks
 -------------------
@@ -1491,20 +1491,6 @@ show_images_inline
 
 If set to false, images won't be rendered in chats, instead only their links will be shown.
 
-show_only_online_users
-----------------------
-
-* Default:  ``false``
-
-If set to ``true``, only online users will be shown in the contacts roster.
-Users with any other status (e.g. away, busy etc.) will not be shown.
-
-show_send_button
-----------------
-
-* Default:  ``false``
-
-If set to ``true``, a button will be visible which can be clicked to send a message.
 
 singleton
 ---------
diff --git a/src/converse-rosterview.js b/src/converse-rosterview.js
index 1fddc07e7..833293e0a 100644
--- a/src/converse-rosterview.js
+++ b/src/converse-rosterview.js
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ converse.plugins.add('converse-rosterview', {
             'allow_contact_removal': true,
             'hide_offline_users': false,
             'roster_groups': true,
-            'show_only_online_users': false,
             'show_toolbar': true,
             'xhr_user_search_url': null,
         });
@@ -461,16 +460,17 @@ converse.plugins.add('converse-rosterview', {
                 return this;
             },
 
+            /**
+             * Returns a boolean indicating whether this contact should
+             * generally be visible in the roster.
+             * It doesn't check for the more specific case of whether
+             * the group it's in is collapsed.
+             * @private
+             * @method _converse.RosterContactView#mayBeShown
+             */
             mayBeShown () {
-                /* Return a boolean indicating whether this contact should
-                 * generally be visible in the roster.
-                 *
-                 * It doesn't check for the more specific case of whether
-                 * the group it's in is collapsed.
-                 */
                 const chatStatus = this.model.presence.get('show');
-                if ((_converse.show_only_online_users && chatStatus !== 'online') ||
-                    (_converse.hide_offline_users && chatStatus === 'offline')) {
+                if (_converse.hide_offline_users && chatStatus === 'offline') {
                     // If pending or requesting, show
                     if ((this.model.get('ask') === 'subscribe') ||
                             (this.model.get('subscription') === 'from') ||
diff --git a/src/headless/converse-roster.js b/src/headless/converse-roster.js
index 67b5039a9..e45310f18 100644
--- a/src/headless/converse-roster.js
+++ b/src/headless/converse-roster.js
@@ -569,11 +569,8 @@ converse.plugins.add('converse-roster', {
             },
 
             getNumOnlineContacts () {
-                let ignored = ['offline', 'unavailable'];
-                if (_converse.show_only_online_users) {
-                    ignored = _.union(ignored, ['dnd', 'xa', 'away']);
-                }
-                return _.sum(this.models.filter((model) => !_.includes(ignored, model.presence.get('show'))));
+                const ignored = ['offline', 'unavailable'];
+                return _.sum(this.models.filter(m => !ignored.includes(m.presence.get('show'))));
             },
 
             /**