Whatsapp how to hide read
How to Disable Read Receipts in WhatsApp So Nobody Can See Those Blue Check Marks in Chats « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks
- By Nelson Aguilar
- Calling & Texting
WhatsApp, like other popular messengers on iOS and Android, shows when recipients have read your sent messages with a blue double check mark indicator. On the flip side, for those of you who are bad at replying promptly or don't feel like replying at all, you can disable "read receipts" so the senders won't know when or if you even read their messages.
As the sender, you probably like knowing when someone reads your messages, but as the recipient, you either love it, hate it, or it depends on the person. While there is no way to disable read receipts on a per-chat basis, there is a way to disable it altogether. By turning it off, you will not be able to see whether someone has read your sent messages, nor will anyone that sends you messages be able to see when you open them. WhatsApp takes the all or nothing approach, so you can't hide the indicators from your friends and expect to see when they open your messages too.
- Don't Miss: Read WhatsApp Messages Without Letting the Sender Know
The WhatsApp System of Check Marks
WhatsApp has a system of check marks that appear by every single message you send and receive, including text, photos, videos, and audio files.
A single gray check mark means your message was sent, and a set of gray check marks means it was delivered. Those won't appear next to any received messages. In group chats, the double gray check marks show when everyone in the conversation has received the message.
Two blue check marks mean the recipient has read your message, so the conversation had been opened and looked at. The recipient may be able to view your message in a notification which would not show up as read. When you send a message, the recipient will see those blue check marks if you read it and don't have read receipts disabled. In group chats, these blue symbols only show when everyone in the conversation has read the message.
If read receipts are disabled on your account, the gray check marks still appear for you, but the blue check marks are gone everywhere. Recipients will not see any blue indicators on their end stating that you've read the messages they've sent you, nor will you see any saying that they read your messages.
Even if the other person in the chat has read receipts enabled, if you have it disabled on your end, it's disabled for the whole conversation, so no one has a leg up on the other. Another crucial thing to mention is that none of this matters in group chats, where the double blue check marks still show up no matter what settings you have disabled.
Option 1: Hide Read Receipts on iOS
To disable read receipts on an iPhone, in WhatsApp, tap on "Settings" in the navigation bar at the bottom. Next, tap "Account," then "Privacy," and turn off the toggle next to "Read Receipts" (which is enabled by default).
Option 2: Hide Read Receipts on Android
To disable read receipts on an Android phone, in WhatsApp, tap on the vertical ellipsis (the three dots) in the top right, select "Settings" from the menu, then choose "Account."
Next, go into "Privacy," and toggle "Read receipts" off. That's it.
This article was produced during Gadget Hacks' special coverage on texting, instant messaging, calling, and audio/video chatting with your smartphone.
Check out the whole Chat series.
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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
Editor In Chief, 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, 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 hide from the interlocutor that you have read his message
December 4, 2014 Android iOS
Instructions for iMessages, Facebook*, WhatsApp, Viber, VKontakte, Outlook and more.
Each of us knows the following circumstances: we have 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 clicking "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. nine0003
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. nine0003
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 → Settings → Accounts and uncheck the Read Receipt box. nine0003
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.
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If you prefer Firefox, there is a similar plug-in for this browser - Message Seen Disable for Facebook*.
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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. nine0003
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. nine0003
How to discreetly read messages on VKontakte
There are no standard functions for this. But you can try workarounds.
Android users have access to an alternative VKontakte client called Kate Mobile. 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 window with messages 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.
How to discreetly read messages in Outlook
You can disable browsing reports in Outlook on the web.
Go to "Settings" → "Mail" → "Message handling" → "Read receipts" and check the box "Never send notifications". Changes will be saved for all Outlook clients. nine0003
*Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram are prohibited in the territory of the Russian Federation. How to read WhatsApp messages incognito? WhatsApp by default "tells" the sender whether you have read the message. And some users don't like it. Now we will tell you how to bypass this limitation and read your WhatsApp messages in secret from everyone. nine0003 It is worth noting that in fact, in order to read messages in incognito mode, there are several ways at once. Content This is probably the easiest way. You can also view floating notifications for WhatsApp messages on the lock screen. And if the messages are short, then you don’t even have to open anything. You can read them in the preview window. Same as pop-up notifications on screen locks, high priority notifications allow you to read whatsapp message without being noticed. Using an Android smartphone, you will be notified of new WhatsApp messages located in the notification bar at the top of the screen. Instead of tapping on them to open the app, swipe down to read the message. Your message will not be marked as read. nine0003 Almost all Android phones support widgets. If WhatsApp messenger is installed on your smartphone, then you will also find the WhatsApp screen widget in a special repository. Even more interesting materials can always be found in our Telegram channel. LONGRICS FOR YOU NO What does it mean and how to remove Oh, how many troubles happen when using a smartphone. No matter how manufacturers optimize their gadgets, at some point they still cause inconvenience. For example, when the message “Do not close the speaker area” appears on the screen for no reason. Most often, owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones face a similar problem, since the display of a message is directly related to the operation of one of the MIUI functions. If you are also worried about the warning that the speaker area is closed, be sure to read the material to the end, as we will tell you about all the causes of the problem and how to fix it. Read more Which applications should be removed from the phone. They are really dangerous Google Play has always been inferior to the App Store in terms of the quality of applications that it offered to its users and overall security. But this did not prevent Google from reporting annually on the improvement of methods for checking software that enters the store and prevented malicious attacks. Say, download applications for Android only in the official directory, because this way the risk of running into a virus or trojan is lower. However, if you look at it, it turns out that the danger of malicious applications from Google Play is much higher than outside it. nine0003 Read more How to disable the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi By the beginning of 2023, a lot of words have already been said about how to disable Xiaomi ads.
Disable WhatsApp delivery report
The catch here is that it works both ways: if you don't let others know when you've read their messages, then you won't be able to see when they've read yours. Everything is fair.
Enable pop-up notifications on the lock screen
Use high-severity notifications for WhatsApp messages
Read WhatsApp messages in the notification bar
Read WhatsApp messages in an Android widget
Touch and hold a WhatsApp widget to drag it to the home screen. Any incoming WhatsApp messages will be visible in this widget without having to launch the app and open them. And that means without options that your presence will be noticed.
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