How to hide when you read a message on whatsapp
How to Secretly Read a WhatsApp Without the Sender Knowing
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Stop WhatsApp reporting read receipts until you're ready to reply to your messages
By Marie Black
Editor In Chief, Tech Advisor
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, Editor In Chief
Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
How to secretly read a WhatsApp message without letting the sender know
WhatsApp users can disable read receipts to avoid the sender from getting to know if they have read their messages.
They can also follow another trick without disabling the blue ticks.
India Today Tech
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 30, 2021 18:49 IST
By India Today Tech: Yes, it is a text-don’t-call-dominated world. But there are times when you can neither text nor call but you also can’t throw your phone away. During times like these, what you can do is read the WhatsApp message without letting the sender know so that you can take your time to get back to them, without them feeling that you have read and not replied to their messages. A simple way to do this is to simply turn off the read receipts or blue ticks, but this is a 2-way-street and you will not be able to guess if the other person has read your WhatsApp message or not.
Turning off read receipts or disabling blue ticks on WhatsApp is easy. To disable read receipts, go to WhatsApp. Accounts > Privacy> Turn off read receipts by swiping left.
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However, if you are the curious sort and WANT to know who seen-zoned you, and delve into eternal misery, but also don’t want others to know that you read their WhatsApp messages, you can follow this trick -- before opening a WhatsApp message, out your phone in Airplane mode and when you are done, it will be marked as unread even if you have turned off the Airplane mode.
Another trick you can follow to show your presence less on WhatsApp is to turn off your last seen. Go to Settings > Click on Account > Select Privacy. You can tweak settings to disable last seen for your contacts or for no contacts at all.
You can also mark a WhatsApp message as “unread” for times when you see a message but don’t read it so that you remember to read and reply to it later. To mark a message as unread, tap on a message and hold it, then select Mark as unread. Note that the sender will know that the message has been read but you will be reminded that you have not actually read it through a blue or green dot.
In related news, WhatsApp is working on a way to let users transfer their chat history from iOS to Android. Until now, chat histories could only migrate from an Android device to an Android and from iOS to iOS. WhatsApp is currently testing the feature and is yet to make it official. Google has also added a Data Restore Tool app to Play Store that, as the name suggests, allows users to hold on to content from their old devices while setting up their new devices.
The Data Restore Tool allows users to transfer apps, photos, contacts through a cable or cloud backup while setting up a device. As of now, the app version on PlayStore is 1.0.382048734, which could reportedly allow users to copy their WhatsApp chats and history from an iPhone to an Android phone.
How to make Whatsapp not see you online?
Time to read the article 3 minutes.
The information is up to date! The material was checked on 10/20/2019.
The WhatsApp smartphone app automatically sets privacy settings that you can easily change. There are situations when you need to make sure that you are not seen on Whatsapp or hide connections. That is why many users are interested in the question of how to become invisible in the application and we have found the answer to it.
The program allows you to hide the last visit time, profile photo and status from prying eyes.
By learning how to hide a contact from other users, you can log into the application regularly, but no one will know the date of your visit. To do this, go to the application settings, select the line " Account " or " Account " (depending on the operating system of your smartphone) and find the section " Privacy ".
We will tell you that the official website does not provide information on how to make it invisible, that is, hide the connection status. After all, the application simply does not have such a function. All your friends will see that you are online. But we will tell you a secret :-) how to be invisible, communicate with your loved one, parents, friends, but ignore unpleasant personalities:
- WhatsApp has created an extension (let's say a small unofficial add-on) called Hide Status.
- Go to Google Play is Google's store for Android devices. Find the Hide Status extension in this store - this is a WhatsApp stealth that allows you to hide that the user is currently online.
- This add-on itself will tell you how to become secretive.
We will make you happy or upset, but wiretapping is possible :-) . But there is one important point! In order to spy on a person, you need to install a special spy program on his smartphone. Remotely, no one can read your messages - the developers have reliably protected personal data and correspondence from possible hacking, so don't worry :-) .
Whatsapp spy is a paid program. There are currently two types: mSpy and FlexiSPY. With the help of these applications, remote monitoring of smartphones is carried out. Remember that these programs are created for good purposes, for example:
- watch over children and warn them against trouble;
- to know if the girl you are going to propose to is faithful;
- does the guy you are thinking of giving heart and soul love you.
WhatsApp Spy is installed on a mobile phone that needs to be monitored (you will have to borrow someone else's smartphone for a while).
The program will track all phone activity and transfer it to a personal account. You can even follow the conversation in real time.
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How to hide from the interlocutor that you have read his message
December 4, 2014AndroidiOS
Instructions for iMessages, Facebook*, WhatsApp, Viber, VKontakte, Outlook and more.
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0 Each of us knows the following circumstances: we read the message, but do not want or cannot answer it right away.
And our interlocutor sees that the message has been read, but there is no answer. Awkward situation, right? Fortunately, it can be avoided.
How to discreetly read messages in any services
The most obvious option is to view new messages directly on the notification panel of the mobile device without opening the dialog itself. Thus, you can read at least short remarks of your interlocutors.
On iOS, swiping left on a message in the panel and hitting "View" will show even more text that might not fit in the preview. Many Android devices offer a similar opportunity. But if the message is very long, then using the panel it will not be read to the end.
There is another universal, but not the most convenient way. Having received a message, you simply turn off the Internet and read the dialogue in the appropriate program. The interlocutor will not know about reading until you connect the gadget to the Web. This is the only way to secretly view the text of the message, for example, in Instagram* Direct, and many other applications that cannot be disabled in the settings of the read receipt.
Now consider the options for specific programs and services.
How to quietly read messages in iMessages
Developers allow you to hide the fact of reading using settings. If you're using an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings → Messages and turn the switch next to Read Report to clear. After that, the interlocutors will not see whether you read their messages or not.
To turn off read receipts on a Mac, go to Messages → Preferences → Accounts and uncheck the Read Receipt box.
How to discreetly read messages on Facebook*
Officially, this feature is not provided. But there are solutions from third-party developers.
If you use the Google Chrome browser, download the Unseen for Facebook* extension. Once installed, it will automatically hide the read status from your interlocutors.
appbox fallback https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jiomcgpfgkeefipihnplhadgdoollmap?hl=en
If you prefer Firefox, there is a similar plug-in for this browser - Message Seen Disable for Facebook*.
appbox fallback https://addons.mozilla.org/en/firefox/addon/facebook*-message-seen-disable/
Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to hide the read status in the mobile version. So if you need to ignore someone, you'll have to use Facebook* on your computer.
How to discreetly read WhatsApp messages
There is a special option in the settings of the WhatsApp mobile application for this purpose. Open the section "Settings" → "Account" ("Account") → "Privacy" ("Confidentiality") and turn off the "Read Receipts" toggle switch. After that, the messenger will no longer mark messages with blue checkmarks.
This setting is not available on WhatsApp desktop. But if you use it in the mobile application, then the changes will also apply to the computer.
How to discreetly read messages in Viber
In this popular messenger, you can also disable browsing reports directly in the official mobile client. To do this, go to the menu "Settings" → "Privacy" and turn off the "Viewed" option.
This setting is not available on the desktop version of Viber. But if you use it in the mobile application, then the changes will also apply to the computer.
How to discreetly read messages on VKontakte
There are no standard functions for this. But you can try workarounds.
An alternative VKontakte client Kate Mobile is available for Android users. If you enter it with your account and click "Settings" → "Online" → "Close unread", then the program will hide the status of messages. Unfortunately, I could not find a client for iOS with the same functionality.
There is also a way to secretly read messages on the web version of VKontakte. You can use link http://vk.com/im?q=day:xxxxxxxx , specifying the numbers of the current date instead of x's in the DDMMYYYY format: for example, 19032018. A message window will open in which you can read them without the senders noticing. But keep in mind that developers can close this loophole at any time.
