What read receipts are and why you might want to disable them
Read receipts are notifications that tell someone when you have opened and read their message. On iPhone, when read receipts are turned on, a person who texts you will see "Read" with a timestamp below their message once you open it — even if you do not respond. This happens in the Messages app for both regular text messages (SMS) and iMessages.
Many people turn off read receipts because they want privacy about when they read messages, or because they do not want others to feel ignored if they read a message but do not reply right away. Some people keep them on because they want others to know they have seen important messages. The choice is yours, and you can change this setting at any time.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts are turned on or off in Settings under Messages, not in the Messages app itself.
- When you turn off read receipts, no one will see "Read" under their messages to you, but you will also stop seeing "Read" under messages you send to others.
- You can turn read receipts off for all conversations at once, or turn them off only for specific people by muting them in the Messages app.
- Turning off read receipts does not delete past read receipts — it only stops new ones from being sent going forward.
How to turn off read receipts for all conversations
Open the Settings app on your iPhone — it is the gray icon with gears. Scroll down and tap Messages. Look for the option labeled Send Read Receipts and tap the toggle switch next to it to turn it off. The switch will turn from green to gray, which means read receipts are now disabled.
Once you do this, when someone sends you a message, they will no longer see "Read" appear under it after you open it. At the same time, when you send messages to other people, you will no longer see "Read" under your own messages either. This is an all-or-nothing setting — you cannot turn read receipts off for just some people using this method.
How to hide read receipts from specific people
If you want to keep read receipts on overall but do not want certain people to know when you read their messages, you can mute notifications from them. Open the Messages app and find the conversation with that person. Swipe left on their name (or long-press on it), then tap the bell icon with a slash through it. This mutes the conversation.
When you mute a conversation, that person will not see "Read" under their messages to you, even though read receipts are still on for everyone else. The muted person will also not see notification badges or hear sounds from your messages, but they can still send you messages and you can still read them normally. You can unmute the conversation the same way if you change your mind.
What happens when you turn read receipts back on
If you turn read receipts off and then turn them back on later, the setting takes effect when ready for new messages. People will start seeing "Read" under their messages to you again. However, turning read receipts back on does not send retroactive notifications — people will not suddenly see that you read old messages from when read receipts were off.
The same applies if you unmute a conversation. Once you unmute it, read receipts resume for that person, but they will not see that you read messages while the conversation was muted.
Why you might see read receipts even when you think they are off
If you have turned off read receipts but still see "Read" under messages you send, the other person has read receipts turned on for themselves — you are seeing their read receipts, not sending yours. Read receipts work both ways only if both people have them enabled. If you have them off and they have them on, you will see when they read your messages, but they will not see when you read theirs.
Another reason you might see "Read" is if you are in a group message. Group messages sometimes behave differently than one-on-one conversations, and read receipts may appear even if you have the setting turned off. This depends on whether the group is using iMessage or regular text messaging.
Read receipts on iMessage versus regular text messages
Read receipts work differently depending on the type of message. iMessages — messages sent over internet data or Wi-Fi to other Apple devices — show read receipts when the setting is on. SMS text messages — regular text messages sent over your phone plan — do not support read receipts at all, so the other person will never see "Read" under an SMS, regardless of your settings.
You can tell which type of message you are sending by looking at the color of the message bubble. iMessages appear in blue, and SMS messages appear in green. If someone has read receipts off and you send them an iMessage, you will see "Delivered" instead of "Read." If you send them an SMS, you will only see "Delivered" because SMS does not track reads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off read receipts for just one person?
You cannot do this with the main read receipts setting, but you can mute that person's conversation, which hides your read receipts from them. Muting also silences notifications from them, so you may want to use this only if you do not mind missing their messages.
If I turn off read receipts, will people think I am ignoring them?
They will not see "Read" under their messages, so they will not know whether you have read them or not. They may assume you have not seen the message yet, or they may not think about it at all. Turning off read receipts straightforward removes that information from their view.
Do read receipts work in group chats?
Group chats can show read receipts, but the behavior depends on whether the group is using iMessage or SMS. In iMessage groups, you may see a list of who has read the message. In SMS groups, read receipts do not work. You can turn off read receipts for group chats the same way you do for regular conversations.
What if someone asks me why I do not have read receipts on?
You do not owe anyone an explanation. Read receipts are a privacy setting, and it is normal to turn them off. You can straightforward say you prefer not to have them on, or you can explain that you read messages at your own pace and do not want others to feel ignored if you do not reply when ready.
Can I see if someone has turned off their read receipts?
Not directly. If you send someone a message and never see "Read" under it, they may have read receipts off, or they may straightforward not have opened the message yet. There is no way to know for certain which one it is.