What read receipts are and why you might want to turn them off
Read receipts are notifications that tell the person who sent you a message that you have opened and read it. When read receipts are on, a checkmark, timestamp, or "read" label appears next to your message in the conversation — letting the sender know you saw what they wrote, whether or not you have responded yet.
You might want to turn them off for several reasons. Some people find them create pressure to respond when ready. Others prefer privacy — they do not want others to know exactly when they read a message. On group chats, read receipts can also create awkward situations where one person sees everyone else has read the message but has not replied.
The steps to disable read receipts depend on which app or device you use. Most messaging platforms and phones let you turn them off in settings, though the exact location varies.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show the sender when you have opened their message, usually with a checkmark or timestamp.
- On iPhones, you turn off read receipts in Settings > Messages, and the change affects iMessage and FaceTime.
- On Android phones, the process depends on which messaging app you use — Google Messages, WhatsApp, and Samsung Messages each have their own settings.
- Most messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger have read receipt toggles in their own settings, separate from your phone's settings.
- Turning off read receipts on your device does not prevent others from seeing when you read their messages unless they also have the feature disabled.
How to turn off read receipts on iPhone
On an iPhone, read receipts for iMessage and FaceTime are controlled in one place. Open Settings, scroll down to Messages, and tap it. Look for the toggle next to "Send Read Receipts" — it should be gray or off. If it is already off, read receipts are disabled.
This setting controls iMessage only, which is Apple's messaging service for iPhone-to-iPhone communication. If you use other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook Messenger, you will need to turn off read receipts in each app separately. Open the app, go to Settings or Preferences, and look for a "Read Receipts" or "Show Read Status" option.
How to turn off read receipts on Android
Android phones do not have a single system-wide setting for read receipts the way iPhones do. Instead, each messaging app manages its own read receipt settings. The most common messaging app on Android is Google Messages, which comes pre-installed on many phones.
In Google Messages, open the app and tap your profile icon in the top left corner. Go to Settings, then Advanced, and look for "Show read receipts." Turn this off. If you use Samsung Messages instead, open the app, tap the three-line menu, go to Settings, and toggle off "Send read receipts." For any other messaging app — WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, or others — the setting will be in that app's own settings menu, usually under Privacy or Notifications.
Turning off read receipts in individual messaging apps
Many people use multiple messaging apps, and each one has its own read receipt control. WhatsApp, one of the most widely used apps, stores this setting in Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. Telegram has a similar option under Settings > Privacy and Security > Read Receipts. Facebook Messenger does not have a read receipt toggle in the traditional sense, but you can disable "Active Status" so others cannot see when you are online or reading messages.
Signal, a privacy-focused messaging app, does not send read receipts by default — the feature is off unless you turn it on. If you use multiple apps regularly, check each one's settings to make sure read receipts are disabled where you want them to be. The setting in one app does not carry over to another.
What happens when you turn off read receipts
When you disable read receipts, people who message you will no longer see a notification that you have read their message. To them, the message will stay marked as "sent" or "delivered" but never show as "read." This applies only to messages sent to you after you turn off the setting — it does not hide past read receipts.
One important thing to understand: turning off read receipts on your device only stops others from seeing that you read their messages. It does not prevent you from seeing when other people read your messages. If someone else has read receipts turned on, you will still see when they read what you send them. Read receipts are a two-way feature, but each person controls their own side independently.
Read receipts on email and other platforms
Email works differently from text messaging. Gmail, Outlook, and most email services do not have read receipts built in by default. Some email apps offer a "read receipt request" feature, which asks the recipient to send back a notification when they open your email, but this is optional — the recipient can decline. This is different from messaging apps, where read receipts happen automatically.
Some workplace communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams also have read receipt features. In Slack, you can turn off read receipts in Preferences > Notifications > Mark messages as read. In Teams, read receipts are controlled per conversation — you can turn them off by opening a chat, clicking the three dots, and toggling off "Send read receipts."
Common reasons read receipts stay on even after you disable them
If you turn off read receipts but people still see when you read their messages, check a few things. First, make sure you disabled the setting in the right place — if you turned it off in your phone settings but use a third-party messaging app, you need to disable it in that app too. Second, some apps re-enable read receipts after a software update, so check your settings again after updating.
Third, some messaging platforms do not offer a read receipt toggle at all. Instagram Direct Messages, for example, shows when you have read a message and does not provide a way to disable it. If you want to avoid read receipts entirely on a platform that does not offer the option, you would need to use a different app or accept that the sender will see when you read their message.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I turn off read receipts, will people know I am ignoring them?
Not necessarily. Without read receipts, people cannot tell whether you have read their message or straightforward have not seen it yet. However, if you consistently take a long time to respond, they may assume you are ignoring them regardless of read receipts. Read receipts are just one signal — your response time matters more.
Can I turn off read receipts for one person but not everyone else?
Most messaging apps do not offer per-contact read receipt settings. You either have read receipts on for everyone or off for everyone. Some apps like WhatsApp let you hide your "last seen" status separately from read receipts, which gives you a bit more control over what people can see about your activity.
Do read receipts work the same way on group chats?
Yes, read receipts work in group chats the same way they do in one-on-one conversations. When you read a group message, everyone in the chat sees that you have read it. If you turn off read receipts, no one in the group will see when you read messages, which can be helpful in large or work-related group chats where read receipts create pressure to respond quickly.
What is the difference between "delivered" and "read"?
"Delivered" means the message reached the recipient's phone or server. "Read" means the recipient has actually opened and viewed the message. A message can be delivered but not read if the person has not opened the app yet. Read receipts only show the "read" status, not the "delivered" status.
If someone has read receipts off, can I still see when they read my messages?
No. If someone has disabled read receipts on their device, you will not see a "read" notification for messages you send them. You will only see "delivered" or "sent." This is why read receipts are a mutual choice — both people need to have them enabled for either person to see the read status.