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How to secretly read facebook messages


How to secretly read Facebook Messenger without being seen

How-To

Facebook Messenger won't let you turn off read receipts, but there are ways around it

By Martyn Casserly

Contributor, Tech Advisor

Facebook Messenger is a great tool for communication, but it can also be very intrusive. Sometimes you might not want to reply to a message immediately, and yet we also don’t want to appear to be rude by ignoring it.

And that is why you’re here. We’ll show you how to secretly read your Facebook messages and then reply at your leisure.

Read Messenger messages without the sender knowing on a phone

When you send a message on Facebook Messenger you’ll see a circle with a tick inside appear next to the text box. Then, if the recipient opens it, this will disappear and be replaced by the person’s icon. That’s how you know it’s been read.

Facebook Messenger does not allow you to turn off these read receipts, but there are workarounds that can give you back some control.

The most effective way of stopping read receipts is to turn off your internet connection. Here’s how the process works.

1.

Enable flight mode

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You should find Airplane or Flight mode in your phone’s Settings app, but it should be among the quick access icons that appear when you pull down from the top of the screen.

2.

Open Messenger

AlexandraPopova / Shutterstock.com

When you first receive the message, don’t open the Facebook Messenger app, instead turn on Flight Mode. Then, open the app and read the new message: the sender won’t know.

3.

Read the message

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There isn’t an obvious way to know this has been successful on your own phone, but the sender will continue to see only a circle with a checkmark inside to the right of the text bubble. When the inside of the circle is white it means the message has been sent, and when filled with grey it has been delivered.

4.

Turn off flight mode

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Only when you decide that you’re free to engage with the sender should you turn off Flight Mode and re-open Facebook Messenger. This circle will now be replaced with your profile picture, informing the sender that you’ve read the message. 

Read Messenger on PC or laptop without the sender knowing

Even on desktop, Facebook doesn’t provide an option to turn off Messenger read receipts. But here you can benefit from third-party browser plug-ins without resorting to turning off Wi-Fi or unplugging a network cable.

If you use Chrome then there are a fair number of choices. Head to the Chrome Web Store and search for Unseen.

This cunning extension will automatically block read receipts being sent when you open a message.

Click the Add to Chrome button and the extension will install, then when you use Chrome to access Facebook Messenger you’ll be able to read messages in private.  

Jim Martin / Foundry

Firefox users can try FB Unseen, which does the same job. To install it open up a new tab in Firefox, click the three lines up the top right corner then select Add-ons from the menu that appears. Now search for the app and click the Add to Firefox button.

So, there you go. The words Facebook and privacy might seem at odds with each other, but at least using these tips you can claw back a small amount of discretion in Messenger.

Author: Martyn Casserly, Contributor

Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews for Macworld and its sister site Tech Advisor.

[Working] 4 Ways to Read Facebook Messages Without Being Seen

Like most other social media platforms, Facebook shows read receipts to let the senders know you’ve read the message. This could be annoying for people who want to read Facebook messages secretly to reply at their comfort. Thankfully, you can easily hide read receipts in Facebook Messenger with some simple tricks. Here are four working ways to read Facebook messages without being seen by the sender.

Related | 4 Ways to Read Instagram Direct Messages without Being Seen

Read Facebook Messenger Messages without Being Seen (2022)

Table of Contents

Facebook does not offer a dedicated option to disable read receipts. And hence, you’ll have to rely on tricks to read Messenger without informing the sender or showing seen status. This includes reading notifications, using Facebook’s ignore chat option, and even utilizing third-party tools. Read on.

1. Read Facebook Messages Through Notifications

The easiest way to read Facebook messages without letting the sender know is through notifications. When someone messages you, you get a notification with a preview of the message. All you need to do is run an eye over it.

However, it does not show long texts or images, for which we have the other methods below.

2. Read Facebook Messages Without Being Seen By Ignoring Conversation

Facebook Messenger lets you ignore conversations you’re not interested in. Once you do so, the chats are moved to message requests, and you no more get notifications for the messages. Interestingly, you can use this feature to read messages without sending read receipts, as shown below.

On Android
  1. Open Facebook Messenger on your Android phone.
  2. Long-press the chat you want to read without letting the other person know.
  3. Then, click on Ignore messages.
  4. Tap Ignore again to confirm. The message will be moved to the requests section.
  5. Once done, tap your profile picture at the top left.
  6. Click on Message Requests.
  7. Here, switch to the Spam tab.
  8. Open and read the message you’ve just ignored.

You can now read the chats and see images sent by the other person on Facebook without any worries. They won’t be notified of the message getting delivered or seen. The seen status will only appear when you decide to reply to the message.

On iOS
  1. Open Facebook Messenger on your iPhone.
  2. Swipe left on the chat you want to read without being seen.
  3. Click on More > Ignore.
  4. Tap Ignore again to confirm. The chat will be moved to the requests section.
  5. Tap your profile picture at the top-right.
  6. Click on Message Requests.
  7. Select the Spam tab.
  8. Read the message without worrying about the read receipts.

The other party will not be able to see whether you’ve read the message unless you reply to them. Replying to the chat will automatically move it back to the inbox.

3. Turn Off Facebook Read Receipts by Disabling Internet

One of the common methods to read Facebook messages without marking them as seen is to open them offline. Just disable your mobile data and Wifi (or toggle Airplane mode) and then open Messenger chat to read the message.

However, as soon as you connect to the internet, the message will be marked as read. To avoid it, you can clear the Messenger app’s data before going online. This way, the app will never know that you’ve read the message.

To begin with, disable your internet, open Messenger, and read the message. Then, follow the steps below to clear Messenger data:

  1. While keeping the internet disabled, open Settings on your phone and tap Apps & Notifications.
  2. Click on See all apps and select Messenger from the list.
  3. Tap Storage and cache > Clear Storage.
  4. Confirm when prompted to clear the data.

Now, re-enable the mobile data or Wifi, open Messenger, and login back to your account. It involves a little bit of hassle but gets the job done. Unfortunately, iPhone users will have to uninstall the Messenger app and reinstall it later as there’s no option to clear data.

4. Read Facebook Messages Secretly Using Third-Party Extensions

Some third-party Chrome extensions let you read Facebook messages secretly without showing read receipts to the sender. One such extension was Unseen for Facebook Messenger. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be working now.

However, there’s an alternative extension called Social Tools, which you can try on your PC. The extension blocks delivery receipts for Facebook, Instagram, and other sites. That said, it is very experimental and may stop working anytime.

Steps to Block Seen Receipts in Facebook using Chrome Extension:

  1. Head to the extension page and tap Add to Chrome.
  2. After it’s installed, tap the extension icon in the toolbar.
  3. Once the page loads, enable the toggle for Block sending “Seen” to others under both Facebook and Messenger.
  4. Now, open Facebook in Chrome and read the messages you want without marking them as seen.

The extension page will show you the unseen count to check how many read receipts it has blocked to date. However, make sure to do a trial run before relying on it blindly.

Besides Chrome, you can also use extensions on other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge and Brave.

Related | How to Install Chrome Extensions on Android

Wrapping Up- Hiding Read Receipts on Facebook

These were handy ways to read Facebook Messenger messages without being seen or letting the sender know on phone and PC. I hope you can now read messages without worrying about responding on time. If you have something else to recommend, do let me know in the comments below. Stay tuned for more.

You can also follow us for instant tech news at Google News or for tips and tricks, smartphones & gadgets reviews, join GadgetsToUse Telegram Group or for the latest review videos subscribe GadgetsToUse Youtube Channel.

How to discreetly read messages in instant messengers and social networks

It happens that a person writes to whose messages you don’t want to respond and you don’t want to offend him either. But natural curiosity takes its toll, and we need to find out what exactly he wrote. In this article, we will consider how to read his messages imperceptibly for the interlocutor.

Telegram

Few people know that in Telegram you can read messages and not reply to them, because the interlocutor will be sure that the SMS remained unread. There are 2 ways for two different operating systems.

For Android

In order to use this method, you need:

  1. First open the application and the message tab.
  2. Then find the person whose SMS you want to see and pinch his avatar with your finger.
  3. After a few seconds, all the latest messages from your dialog will appear on the screen. You will see them, but he will not know about it.
  4. But be careful, any movement of your finger up or down on the screen, and you will open the entire chat, where a read receipt will already come to your interlocutor.

For iOS

  1. Enable 3D Touch on your gadget.
  2. Then firmly press on the avatar of the interlocutor, after a few seconds slightly loosen the pressure, but do not move your finger.
  3. All recent correspondence with the interlocutor will be released.

If your iPhone does not have 3D Touch, use the method described for Android. There is also the “Mark as unread” function, but it is not completely finalized, so in some cases your interlocutor will still see that the SMS was opened and read.

WhatsApp

This application has a function to notify the interlocutor that your message has been read, in which case it shows two blue checkmarks. But for group chats and conversations, the checkmarks will never become bright, this is not provided for them.

There are several ways to read messages without the interlocutor knowing about it.

Block read receipts

  1. Go to settings, select "Account".
  2. Then click on "Privacy".
  3. Opposite the "Read report" uncheck the box.

Then your interlocutor will not know whether you have read his SMS or not. But there is a certain downside to this. If you've disabled read receipts for others, this feature will be disabled for you as well. That is, you will also not be able to know whether your messages have been read or not.

Turn off the Internet, wi-fi or set the Airplane mode

To prevent the application from sending a read report before opening the chat, turn off all Internet or set the Airplane mode.

Only after reading the messages, hold the desired chat with your finger and select "Mark as unread" in the menu. After that, turn on the Internet and exit the application.

Create application shortcut on desktop

This method is only available for android users.

  1. Add a shortcut to your desktop. To do this, touch an empty area of ​​​​the screen and hold for a few seconds.
  2. Next, select Widgets and the WhatsApp application.

The widget on the desktop will only show messages and emoticons so that the interlocutors will not understand that you have seen them. But voice SMS, photos and videos cannot be read in this way.

Dashboard Notifications

This is the simplest and most common method that everyone knows about. In order to read messages without a read mark, you need to open the notification panel and read part of the SMS. In order for the message to come out completely, you need to slightly stretch the window down.

Be careful, when you touch the window, a chat will open in which the interlocutor will see your reading.

Viber

In order to read messages discreetly, you need:

  1. Turn off the Internet and turn on the Airplane mode.
  2. Log in to the application and open the desired chat.
  3. Do not turn on the Internet or wi-fi until you exit the application.

There is another way:

  1. Enter the application settings.
  2. Click on "Privacy".
  3. Then disable the Seen feature.

If you do everything right in the second method, you will be able to discreetly read SMS in the messenger even from the computer version of the application.

Social networks

Vkontakte

There are no official functions for discreet reading of the interlocutor's message. But there is a way to help you with this. This method will please only android owners.

  1. Download the Kate Mobile or VK Coffee app. Better from a third-party site, but first check it for the presence or absence of viruses.
  2. Log in to your account.
  3. Next go to settings.
  4. Select Online.
  5. Then click on Close Unread.

Instagram

All methods are quite simple:

  1. Use the notification panel, where you can discreetly read all the messages sent.
  2. Turn off the Internet and read all the necessary chats.
  3. You can read the message normally, then click on Mark Unread. If the SMS is long, take a screenshot and read it in such a way that the interlocutor does not suspect anything.
  4. You can disable read receipts in the settings, but then you will not see when your SMS has been read.

Facebook

With the Unseen app, you can read messages without the sender knowing.

  1. You need to download the program from the Play Market.
  2. Then go through all the installation steps.
  3. And run the application.

You can also use the same methods that were described for discreetly reading an Instagram message.

  • Author: Emma Ryabova