What read receipts are and why you might want to disable them
Read receipts are notifications that tell the person who sent you a message that you have opened and read it. When you turn them on, a checkmark, timestamp, or "seen" label appears next to your message in their chat window — they know you read it, and roughly when. When you turn them off, they see nothing. The sender has no way to know whether you opened the message five seconds ago or five days ago.
The choice to disable read receipts is about managing expectations and controlling your own availability. Some people find read receipts create pressure to respond when ready, or they worry that being "seen" without replying will offend someone. Others straightforward want privacy about when they check their messages. There is no security risk to having them on or off — it is purely about what information you share with people who message you.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts are turned on by default in most messaging apps, but you can disable them in settings on nearly every platform.
- Turning off read receipts means senders cannot see that you have opened their message, but they can still see when you were last active if that feature is enabled separately.
- You can disable read receipts globally across all conversations, or in some apps you can turn them off for specific people only.
- The steps to disable read receipts differ by app and device — what works on iPhone does not work the same way on Android or a computer.
How to turn off read receipts on iPhone
On iPhone, read receipts are managed through the Messages app settings. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Messages, then look for the Send Read Receipts toggle. If it is green and switched to the right, read receipts are on. Tap it once to turn it off — the toggle will turn gray and move to the left.
This setting applies to all your text messages and iMessage conversations at once. You cannot turn read receipts off for one person and keep them on for another using this method. If you want to hide your read status from specific people, you would need to disable read receipts entirely, which means no one will see when you read their messages.
How to turn off read receipts on Android
The process on Android depends on which messaging app you use. For Google Messages (the default on most Android phones), open the app, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, go to Settings, then Advanced, and toggle off Send read receipts.
If you use Samsung Messages, open the app, tap the three-line menu button, select Settings, then Chat settings, and turn off Read receipts. For WhatsApp, open the app, tap the three dots in the top right, go to Settings, then Privacy, and toggle off Read receipts. Each app stores this setting in a slightly different place, so if you use multiple messaging platforms, you may need to disable read receipts in each one separately.
How to turn off read receipts on Facebook Messenger and Instagram
In Facebook Messenger, open the app and tap your profile picture in the bottom right. Go to Notifications & sounds, then scroll down to find Read receipts and toggle it off. This hides your read status from everyone in your Messenger conversations.
In Instagram Direct Messages, open the app, tap your profile picture, go to Settings and privacy, then Notifications, and look for Message requests or Direct messages. Instagram does not offer a global read receipt toggle the way Messenger does. Instead, you can turn off notifications for specific conversations, but the sender will still see when you have read their message. If you want to hide your read status entirely on Instagram, you would need to avoid opening messages in the app — opening them in your notifications or using the web version may behave differently.
How to turn off read receipts on desktop and web apps
On a computer, the process varies by platform. In Facebook Messenger on the web, click your profile picture in the top left, select Settings & privacy, then Settings, and look for Read receipts under the Privacy section. In WhatsApp Web, click the three dots in the top left, select Settings, go to Privacy, and toggle off Read receipts.
For Gmail, read receipts work differently — they are not on by default, and you only send one if you actively choose to when you open a message. There is no setting to disable them because they are opt-in. If you use Slack for work messaging, open the app, click your profile picture, go to Preferences, then Privacy, and toggle off Let others see when you read messages. These settings usually sync across your devices, but it is worth checking both your phone and computer to confirm.
What happens when you turn off read receipts
When you disable read receipts, the sender will not see a "read" indicator next to their message. They will see it as "delivered" or "sent" indefinitely, even if you read it when ready. This does not make your message disappear or prevent the sender from knowing you received it — they just cannot see the moment you opened it.
Turning off read receipts does not hide your "last seen" or "active now" status if those are enabled separately. Some apps show when you were last active in the app even without read receipts. If you want to be completely invisible, you may need to disable both read receipts and your active status, which are usually separate toggles in the same settings area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell I turned off read receipts?
Not directly. They will straightforward not see a "read" indicator next to their messages. They might notice that you never show as "read" and suspect you have disabled the feature, but the app itself will not tell them. Some people turn off read receipts and then tell the person directly to avoid confusion.
If I turn off read receipts, will old messages show as read or unread?
Turning off read receipts does not change the status of messages you have already read. It only affects messages going forward. Old messages will keep whatever status they already have. The setting only controls whether new read notifications are sent to other people.
Can I turn off read receipts for one person but keep them on for everyone else?
Most apps do not offer per-person read receipt settings. You typically have to turn them on or off globally. Some apps like WhatsApp let you mute notifications from specific people, but that is different from hiding your read status. If you need to hide your read status from one person only, you would have to disable read receipts entirely.
Does turning off read receipts affect video calls or voice calls?
No. Read receipts only explore to text messages and chat. Video and voice calls have their own notification system and are not affected by read receipt settings. The person will still see that you answered or missed the call.
What if an app does not have a read receipt setting?
Some smaller messaging apps or older platforms may not offer read receipt controls. In that case, you have no way to disable them through settings. Your only option would be to avoid opening messages in that app, though this is not practical for regular communication. If privacy is important to you, you might consider switching to an app that gives you control over this feature.