What read receipts are and why you might want to turn them off
Read receipts are the two blue checkmarks that appear next to your message in WhatsApp after someone has opened and read it. The first checkmark means the message was delivered to their phone. The second checkmark appears when they actually open the chat and see what you wrote. When read receipts are on, everyone in your contacts can see exactly when you read their messages too.
Many people turn off read receipts because they want privacy about when they are actually reading messages. You might not want someone to know you saw their message at 2 a.m. but chose not to reply. Or you might prefer not to feel obligated to respond when ready just because someone can see you have read what they sent. Turning off read receipts removes that visibility for both directions — people cannot see when you read their messages, and you cannot see when they read yours.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts are the two blue checkmarks next to your message, showing when someone has opened and read it.
- Turning off read receipts hides when you read messages from everyone, and also hides when others read your messages from you.
- The setting is in WhatsApp Settings under Account, then Privacy, and applies to all your chats at once.
- You can turn read receipts back on at any time using the same menu.
How to turn off read receipts on iPhone
Open WhatsApp and tap the Settings icon at the bottom right of your screen. It looks like a gear. From the Settings menu, tap Account, then Privacy. You will see a toggle switch next to "Read Receipts." Tap it once to turn it off. The switch will no longer be highlighted in green.
Once you turn off read receipts, the blue checkmarks will stop appearing on your messages. Other people will still see one gray checkmark when their message reaches your phone, but they will not see a second checkmark when you open and read it. At the same time, you will no longer see two blue checkmarks on messages you receive — you will only see one gray checkmark when a message is delivered.
How to turn off read receipts on Android
Open WhatsApp and tap the three vertical dots (menu icon) at the top right of your screen. Select Settings from the dropdown menu. Tap Account, then Privacy. You will see a toggle next to "Read Receipts." Tap it to turn it off. The toggle will no longer show as active.
The change takes effect when ready. Your contacts will no longer see when you have read their messages, and you will no longer see when they have read yours. If you change your mind later, you can turn read receipts back on by following the same steps and tapping the toggle again.
What happens to old messages when you turn off read receipts
Turning off read receipts does not change the checkmarks on messages you have already read. Those messages will keep their two blue checkmarks. The setting only affects messages you receive and read after you turn it off. Those new messages will show only one gray checkmark on the sender's end, never a second blue one.
If someone sent you a message before you turned off read receipts, and you read it after you turned off read receipts, they will still see two blue checkmarks on that message. The timing of when you turned off the setting does not retroactively change what they see about messages they already sent.
The difference between turning off read receipts and muting a chat
Turning off read receipts is different from muting a chat. When you mute a chat, you stop receiving notifications from that conversation, but read receipts still work normally — people can still see when you have read their messages. Muting is useful if someone sends you many messages but you do not want your phone buzzing constantly. Read receipts control visibility of when you actually open and read messages.
You can mute a chat by long-pressing the conversation in your chat list, then selecting Mute Notifications. You can also turn off read receipts for that specific person by opening the chat, tapping their name at the top, scrolling down, and toggling off "Read Receipts" — but this only works on some versions of WhatsApp and only hides your read receipts from that one person, not from everyone.
What you lose when read receipts are off
When you turn off read receipts, you lose the ability to see when other people have read your messages. This can make group chats harder to manage because you cannot tell if someone has actually seen an important message or if it just sat unread on their phone. You also cannot tell if someone is ignoring you or straightforward has not opened the app yet.
Some people find this trade-off worth it for the privacy. Others prefer to keep read receipts on but straightforward accept that they do not have to respond when ready just because someone can see they have read a message. There is no right answer — it depends on what matters more to you: privacy about your reading habits, or visibility into whether people have actually seen what you sent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off read receipts for just one person?
On most current versions of WhatsApp, you cannot hide read receipts from one specific person while keeping them visible to everyone else. The setting is all or nothing — either everyone sees your read receipts or no one does. Some older versions of WhatsApp had a per-contact option, but this has been removed in recent updates.
Will people know I turned off read receipts?
No. People will straightforward stop seeing the second blue checkmark on their messages to you. They may notice over time that you never show read receipts, but WhatsApp does not send a notification saying you have turned the feature off. They cannot see your privacy settings.
Do read receipts work the same way in group chats?
Yes. In a group chat, each person's read receipts work independently. If you turn off read receipts, the group will not see when you have read messages. Other group members can still have read receipts on, and you will see when they have read messages — unless they have also turned read receipts off.
Can I see read receipts if I turn them off and then back on?
Yes. When you turn read receipts back on, you will start seeing two blue checkmarks again on messages people send you, and people will start seeing two blue checkmarks on messages you send them. The feature works the same way as it did before you turned it off.