Home » Misc » How to disable read receipts in whatsapp

How to disable read receipts in whatsapp


How to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp

(Image credit: Future)

Whether privacy is your thing or you'd simply prefer to reply to messages at your own pace, knowing how to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp will let you be more incognito when using this popular messaging app.

WhatsApp is found on most iOS and Android smartphones these days, offering an easy way to chat with practically anyone worldwide. One downside of its myriad features, though, is that it can be hard to avoid contacts without them getting offended if we don't fancy replying right away.

Thankfully, however, it's easy to disable read receipts on WhatsApp, allowing you to read your messages without your contacts knowing you've seen them. A caveat is that it's only possible to disable read receipts for one-on-one chats — group chats are exempt from this feature. It's also worth noting that if you disable read receipts, you will also not be able to see read receipts for your contacts.

Want to know how to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp? Our guide below has all the answers.

How to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp: Android

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three dots in the top-right, then tap Settings.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2. Now, tap Account, then tap Privacy.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

3. To turn read receipts off, tap the toggle by Read receipts to deselect it.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

How to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp: iOS

1. Open WhatsApp then tap Settings in the bottom-right corner, then tap Account.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

2. Tap Privacy, then simply tap the toggle by Read Receipts to turn them off.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

And that's all there is to it. Now you know how to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp, you may want to know how to move WhatsApp messages from Android to iOS, how to message yourself on WhatsApp, how to create a WhatsApp avatar, how to use WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop, or how to send disappearing photos and videos in WhatsApp. If you're after tips on discovering your smartphone's hidden features, we've got you covered. Android users can start with how to translate any text on Android while iPhone users can get cracking with how to adjust your iPhone camera's brightness on the fly.

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

Dale Fox is a freelance journalist based in the UK. He's been a tech nerd ever since childhood, when he used the money from his first job as a paperboy to buy a subscription to GamesMaster magazine. Dale was previously a presenter and editor in China, where he also worked as a copywriter for OnePlus at its Shenzhen HQ.  

Topics

Smartphones

How to Secretly Read a WhatsApp Without the Sender Knowing

Home / How-To / Phone How-To

How-To

Stop WhatsApp reporting read receipts until you're ready to reply to your messages

By Marie Black

Editorial Director, Tech Advisor SEP 29, 2022 3:47 pm BST

WhatsApp makes it far too easy to tell when someone has read your message. It’s handy when you are the sender of the message, but less welcome when it’s the other way around. You can’t hide under the duvet and pretend it didn’t happen. The sender knows you’ve seen their message and that you haven’t replied.

WhatsApp messages are just one of many modern intrusions in this digital age that do not take into account what we’re doing or how we’re feeling when they arrive on our phones. Sometimes you might want a chance to think about what to say before replying, yet not appear rude by not doing so immediately.

But that’s difficult unless you can stop WhatsApp from telling the sender you’ve opened the app and read their message.

How does someone know when you’ve read their message on WhatsApp? The most obvious way is through the tick symbols that are displayed at the end of every WhatsApp message: one grey tick is sent; two grey ticks is delivered; two blue ticks is read.

To make matters worse, you can select any message and tap the three dots icon, followed by Info, to see the exact time the message was delivered and when it was read.

And then there’s Last seen: even if you get around the tick system and the timing issues, can you really explain being online 10 minutes ago and not having seen the message sent to you an hour ago?

Here’s how to get around some of those problems.

How to turn off WhatsApp read receipts

You can get around WhatsApp’s tick system the official way or the sneaky way.

The official way is best if you don’t want anyone ever knowing when you’ve read their messages, but you’ll need to accept that you also won’t be able to tell when they’ve read your messages.

The sneaky way is best if you’re wanting to achieve this on an ad hoc basis – perhaps it’s just the one person you’re avoiding, rather than the whole world.

The official way to disable WhatsApp read receipts

Launch WhatsApp, tap the three dots icon at the top right, then choose Settings.

Select Account > Privacy. Scroll down to and toggle off the option for Read receipts.

Note that this does not apply to group messages, though it is less obvious when you have read a message in these conversations because the two ticks won’t turn blue until everyone has seen the message. You can still check who has read messages you have sent within group conversations by selecting the message, tapping the three dots icon and choosing Info.

The sneaky way to get around WhatsApp read receipts

There are various ways to read WhatsApp messages without the app realising you have read them. Most of these are made possible by you never opening the app in the first place.

Here are some places you can read WhatsApp messages without opening them:

  • In notification previews – at the top of your screen, in your notification menu, and even on your lock screen
  • In the WhatsApp home screen widget
  • On a connected smartwatch or fitness tracker that supports WhatsApp notifications
  • While using your phone in Aeroplane mode – but only for as long as it stays offline

You can turn on high-priority notifications in Settings > Notifications. This will make the appear at the top of your screen when they arrive, and you can read them and then swipe them away without ever opening them.

Lock screen notifications are also possible when you go to Settings > Notifications and look for this option under Messages.

Blocking someone is a last resort, especially if you want to remain friends. You can achieve this by opening the conversation thread, tapping the three dots at the top and choosing More > Block. Don’t forget to unblock them later if you do go down this path.

For as long as they remain blocked they won’t know whether you’ve read their message, but there will be other clues to the fact they are blocked: your profile picture and status will disappear, none of their messages will appear to be delivered, and they won’t be able to call you.

The following ‘tips’ will not allow you to read WhatsApp messages without being seen:

  • Marking messages as unread
  • Deleting WhatsApp messages after you have read them (this isn’t Inspector Gadget)

How to turn off Last Seen

It’s no good turning off read receipts if your message sender can see that you’ve been on WhatsApp and haven’t bothered to read their message. In fact, it’s worse.

As with read receipts, this works both ways: you can’t see when they were last online if you don’t let them see when you were.

Launch WhatsApp, tap the three dots at the top right of the screen and choose Settings. 

Select Account > Privacy, then select Last seen.

You can then choose who should see when you were last online: everyone, no-one or only your contacts.

It’s also possible now to control who can see whether you’re online or not in WhatsApp.

  • How to use WhatsApp on a computer
  • Most common WhatsApp scams

Author: Marie Black, Editorial Director

Marie is Editorial Director at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our EMEA and LatAm editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.

How to enable/disable read receipts in WhatsApp

Read receipts are a WhatsApp feature that allows the user to enjoy privacy (or lack thereof). This feature shows the recipient's interaction with a text, multimedia message, or the sender's status (whatsapp stories). Read receipts are double blue checkmarks to confirm receipt. These are also the "views" you see on your WhatsApp status.

Thankfully WhatsApp has never made Read Receipts a default feature lately. The user can always enable or disable this feature as needed. Each side has its own advantages and disadvantages. nine0003

Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of the Read Receipts feature and how to enable/disable it in the WhatsApp mobile and desktop apps, as well as the web version of WhatsApp.

About WhatsApp read receipts

Enabling Read Receipts allows the user to be aware of the recipient's interactions with their WhatsApp content. This may be a blessing, but most users see it differently. While this feature bridges the communication gap, it also fuels doubt because someone can always leave someone in Read or Seen mode. nine0003

Enabling and disabling "Read Receipts" has its pros and cons. Here are some of them:

Enabling read receipts is a plus

  • The user knows that their message has been read.
  • The user is aware of everyone involved in their WhatsApp stories.

Enabling read receipts - cons

  • Discomfort from being left to read - you can see that it is zoned.
  • The recipient may feel the need to respond immediately because the sender sees two blue checkmarks in their message.

Turning off read receipts is a plus

  • No pressure to respond immediately. The sender is unaware of the recipient's interaction with the message.
  • This is a win-win situation. The sender is not embarrassed by the ignored/delayed text, and the recipient is calm and may delay the response.

Disabling read receipts - cons

  • The user does not know if his message has been read.
  • The user is not aware of all those involved in their stories.

"Read receipts" are always sent to groups. You can check if the group is receiving and reading your message, whether the feature is on or off.

Enable/disable read receipts in the WhatsApp mobile app

Launch WhatsApp on your phone and tap the ellipsis icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the screen.

Select Settings from the next menu.

Click "Privacy" on the next "Account" screen.

Navigate to the Read Reports sections of the Privacy screen. Tap the switch in this section so that it turns green. Green indicates that the feature is enabled, while gray (as shown in the screenshot) suggests that the feature be disabled. nine0003

Enable/disable read receipts in the WhatsApp desktop app and web client

The WhatsApp desktop app and web client have the same layout. The same procedure works on both platforms.

Launch the WhatsApp desktop app or sign in to the WhatsApp web app and click the ellipsis (three horizontal dots) icon in the upper left corner of the screen. Select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.

Select "Privacy" from the "Settings" menu.

Check the tiny box next to Read Receipts to check it out. A unchecked box means "read receipts" are disabled, while a checked box means "read receipts" are enabled.

Enabling/disabling this feature on one device applies to all your WhatsApp devices.

How to check read receipts in groups

Group chats always receive "Read Receipts" whether this feature is enabled or disabled. Here's how you can find out if (and how many) people in a group have seen your post. This method is slightly different for WhatsApp mobile app, WhatsApp desktop app and web client.

WhatsApp mobile app. Launch WhatsApp and open a group chat. Press and hold the text message you sent and then tap the round "i" icon in the chat feed. nine0003

You will now see the "Read" list for the highlighted text message, which lists everyone who has read your text message, along with the date and time. The "Delivered To" list follows the "Read By" list. This list contains contacts who have received the message but have not yet opened or seen it.

WhatsApp desktop and web client. Launch the WhatsApp web client or desktop application and enter a group chat. Hover over the sent text and click the downward arrow. Now select "Message Info" from the context menu. nine0003

You will then see a "Read" and "Delivered" list on the right, which lists those who received and viewed your messages, and those who only received them, respectively.

This is the Read Receipts feature in WhatsApp. You can always enable or disable it to your liking. I hope our guide was helpful to you!

How useful is the publication?

Click on a star to rate!

Average rating / 5. Number of ratings:

No ratings yet. Rate first.

Related articles:

How to turn off read receipts for WhatsApp messages on iPhone?

Do you use WhatsApp often? If you do not want your interlocutor to see that you have read his message, then read the article and find out how to do it.