What read receipts do and why you might disable them
Read receipts are notifications that tell the person texting you when you have opened and read their message. On a Mac, they work through the Messages app — when someone sends you an iMessage, they can see a small "Read" timestamp appear below their message once you open it. This happens automatically unless you turn it off.
Some people disable read receipts because they want privacy — they do not want others to know the exact moment they read a message, even if they are not ready to reply yet. Others turn them off to avoid the social pressure of appearing to ignore someone who knows you have seen their message. The setting is per-contact, so you can turn read receipts on for some people and off for others.
Read receipts only work between Apple devices using iMessage (the blue text bubbles). They do not explore to regular SMS text messages (green bubbles) or to other messaging apps like WhatsApp or Slack, which have their own separate settings.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts are turned on by default in the Messages app on Mac, but you can disable them globally in System Settings under Messages.
- You can also turn off read receipts for individual contacts by opening a conversation and using the Details panel on the right side.
- Disabling read receipts prevents anyone from seeing when you have read their iMessages, but does not affect SMS text messages or other apps.
- If you turn off read receipts globally, you will also stop receiving read receipts from other people — you will not see when they read your messages.
Turn off read receipts for everyone at once
The fastest way to disable read receipts is to turn off the setting in System Settings, which applies to all your conversations. Open System Settings (the gear icon in your dock or Applications folder), then click Messages in the left sidebar. Scroll down until you see the "Send Read Receipts" toggle and click it to turn it off.
Once you do this, nobody will be able to see when you read their messages, and you will also stop seeing read receipts from other people. This is a global setting — it affects every conversation at once. If you change your mind later, you can turn it back on the same way.
Turn off read receipts for one person only
If you want to keep read receipts on for most people but disable them for a specific contact, you can do that directly in a conversation. Open the Messages app and find the conversation with that person. Click the "Details" button in the top right corner of the conversation (it looks like an "i" in a circle), and a panel will open on the right side of your screen.
In that Details panel, look for the toggle labeled "Send Read Receipts" and turn it off. This setting applies only to that one conversation — read receipts will still work normally with everyone else. You can repeat this for as many individual contacts as you want.
What happens when you disable read receipts
When you turn off read receipts, the person messaging you will no longer see a "Read" timestamp below their messages. Instead, they will only see a single checkmark (meaning the message was delivered to your device) but no indication of when or whether you actually opened it. From their perspective, it will look the same as if they had sent you a regular text message.
If you disable read receipts globally in System Settings, this also means you will not see read receipts from other people. When you send someone an iMessage, you will see one checkmark when it is delivered and two checkmarks when it reaches their device, but you will not see a "Read" notification. This is a trade-off: privacy in both directions.
Read receipts do not work for text messages or group chats
Read receipts only work for one-on-one iMessages between Apple devices. If you are texting someone with an Android phone, the message appears as a regular SMS text message (shown in green), and read receipts do not explore at all — the other person will not see when you read it, regardless of your settings.
In group conversations, read receipts work differently. If you have them enabled, other people in the group will see when you have read the conversation, but the setting is still controlled by your Messages preferences. If you turn off read receipts globally, they will be off in group chats too.
Troubleshooting read receipts that are not working
If you have read receipts turned on but are not seeing them from someone, check that both of you are using iMessage. Ask the person to verify they are sending blue text bubbles, not green ones. If they are sending green SMS messages, read receipts will never appear.
Another common issue is that the other person has disabled read receipts on their end. If they have turned off the global setting in System Settings, you will not see their read receipts no matter what your settings are. You can only control whether you send read receipts to others, not whether you receive them.
If read receipts suddenly stopped working and you have not changed any settings, restart the Messages app by closing it completely and opening it again. If that does not work, restart your Mac. Read receipt issues are usually temporary and resolve on their own after a restart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell I have read their message if I have read receipts off?
No. When you disable read receipts, they will only see a single checkmark (delivered) or two checkmarks (sent to your device), but no "Read" notification. They will have no way to know when or if you opened the message.
If I turn off read receipts, do I stop seeing when other people read my messages?
Yes. The global setting in System Settings works both ways. If you disable read receipts, you will not send them to others and you will not receive them from others. If you want to keep receiving read receipts from others, you must keep the global setting on and disable it only for individual contacts instead.
Do read receipts work on group chats?
Yes, but only if everyone in the group is using iMessage. If even one person is using SMS or Android, read receipts will not work for the entire conversation. Your read receipt setting applies to group chats the same way it does to one-on-one conversations.
Will turning off read receipts affect my iPhone or iPad?
No. Read receipt settings on your Mac only control the Messages app on that specific device. Your iPhone and iPad have their own separate settings in their own System Settings. You can have read receipts on on your iPhone and off on your Mac at the same time.
What is the difference between one checkmark and two checkmarks?
One checkmark means the message was sent from your device. Two checkmarks mean it was delivered to the other person's device. Neither of these indicates the message was read — that is what the "Read" timestamp shows, and it only appears if read receipts are enabled.