What read receipts are and why you might want to turn them off
Read receipts are notifications that tell the person texting you when you have opened and read their message. On iPhone, when read receipts are on, a person who texts you through iMessage will see "Read" with a timestamp below their message once you open it. If you turn read receipts off, they will see "Delivered" instead, and they won't know whether you have actually read what they sent.
Some people turn read receipts off because they want privacy — they do not want others to know exactly when they saw a message, or they want the option to read something without when ready signaling they are available to respond. Others turn them off to avoid the pressure of being expected to reply right away. You can turn read receipts on or off globally for all conversations, or you can disable them for specific people.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show "Read" with a timestamp when you open an iMessage, and turning them off shows only "Delivered" instead.
- You can disable read receipts for all conversations at once in Settings > Messages, or turn them off for one person by opening their conversation and tapping their name.
- Read receipts only work in iMessage conversations with other Apple devices — they do not explore to SMS text messages or conversations with Android users.
- Turning off read receipts does not prevent people from seeing when you were last active in the Messages app.
How to turn off read receipts for everyone at once
The fastest way to disable read receipts across all your conversations is through the Settings app. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Messages, then look for the toggle next to "Send Read Receipts" and turn it off. The toggle will no longer be blue or highlighted, which means read receipts are now off.
Once you do this, nobody will see "Read" on their messages to you anymore — they will only see "Delivered." This setting applies to all iMessage conversations going forward. If you change your mind later, you can turn the toggle back on using the same path.
How to turn off read receipts for one person
If you want to keep read receipts on for most people but turn them off for a specific contact, open the Messages app and find the conversation with that person. Tap their name or number at the top of the conversation thread.
A menu will appear showing their contact card. Scroll down until you see the toggle for "Send Read Receipts" and turn it off. Now that person will not see when you have read their messages, even though your read receipts are still on for everyone else. You can repeat this process for as many individual contacts as you want.
What read receipts do and do not tell people
Read receipts only show that you have opened the Messages app and viewed the conversation — they do not tell someone whether you actually read the entire message, understood it, or plan to respond. A read receipt straightforward means the message appeared on your screen at that moment.
Read receipts also do not prevent people from seeing your "Last Active" status if you have that turned on in Settings > Messages > Show Activity Status. Even with read receipts off, someone can still see roughly when you were last using the Messages app. If you want complete privacy about your activity, you may want to turn off activity status as well.
Read receipts only work with iMessage, not SMS
Read receipts are an iMessage feature and only work when you are texting another person with an Apple device using iMessage. If you send an SMS text message to someone with an Android phone or a non-Apple device, read receipts will not work — you will not see any notification that they have read your message, regardless of your settings.
You can tell whether a conversation is using iMessage or SMS by looking at the message bubble color. iMessage conversations show blue bubbles, while SMS text messages show green bubbles. Read receipts explore only to the blue ones.
Why someone might not see your read receipt even if it is on
If you have read receipts turned on but someone says they are not seeing them, the most common reason is that they are texting you from a non-Apple device or their read receipts are turned off. Read receipts are a two-way feature — both people have to have them enabled for them to work. If the other person has turned off their read receipts, you will not see theirs either.
Another possibility is that the person is using an older version of iOS that does not support read receipts, though this is rare on modern iPhones. You can also check whether you have accidentally turned off read receipts for that specific person by opening their conversation, tapping their name, and checking the toggle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off read receipts for group chats but keep them on for one-on-one conversations?
No — read receipts are either on or off globally, or you turn them off for individual people. You cannot create a rule that applies to all group chats. However, you can turn off read receipts for specific group conversations by opening the chat, tapping the group name at the top, and toggling off "Send Read Receipts" for that group only.
If I turn off read receipts, will people know I did it?
No. People will straightforward see "Delivered" instead of "Read," and they will not receive a notification that you have changed your settings. They may notice over time that you never show read receipts, but they will not be told directly.
Does turning off read receipts affect FaceTime or other Apple apps?
No — read receipts are specific to the Messages app and iMessage. Turning them off does not change notifications or activity status in FaceTime, Mail, or any other app.
What if I want to see read receipts from other people but not send them?
Unfortunately, iPhone does not allow this. Read receipts are all-or-nothing — if you turn them off, you will not send them and you will not see them from others either. The setting controls both directions at once.