What read receipts do and where to find the setting
Read receipts let the person texting you know when you have opened their message. When you turn them on, a small checkmark or icon appears in the conversation to show the sender that you have seen what they wrote. On Android, the setting lives in your default messaging app — usually Google Messages, Samsung Messages, or WhatsApp, depending on which phone you own and which app you use most.
The exact location of this setting changes depending on your phone brand and which messaging app you use. A Samsung phone with Samsung Messages will have the setting in a different place than a Google Pixel with Google Messages. This guide covers the most common paths, but if your app looks different, the setting is usually under a menu labeled "Settings" or "Notifications".
Before you turn read receipts on, know that it works both ways. Once you enable them, people will see when you have read their messages too. You cannot turn read receipts on for incoming messages only — the feature is all or nothing in most Android apps.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show the sender a checkmark or icon when you open their message, and the setting is usually in your messaging app's Settings menu.
- The exact location varies by phone brand and app, but Google Messages, Samsung Messages, and WhatsApp all have the feature in their notification or privacy settings.
- Turning read receipts on means people can see when you have read their messages, not just when you have received them.
- Some messaging apps let you turn read receipts off for specific conversations or contacts, even if you have the feature turned on overall.
How to turn on read receipts in Google Messages
Open the Google Messages app on your Android phone. Tap the three horizontal lines (called a menu or hamburger icon) in the top left corner of the screen. Scroll down and tap "Settings".
In Settings, look for an option labeled "Advanced" or scroll until you see "Read receipts" or "Send read receipts". Tap that option and toggle it on. The toggle will turn blue or show a checkmark to confirm it is active. Close the app — the change saves automatically.
If you do not see a read receipts option in Google Messages, your phone's Android version or the app version may not support the feature yet. Check that your Google Messages app is up to date by opening the Google Play Store, searching for Google Messages, and tapping "Update" if one is available.
How to turn on read receipts in Samsung Messages
Open the Samsung Messages app. Tap the three vertical dots (menu icon) in the top right corner. Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.
In Settings, tap "Chat settings" or look for a section labeled "Notifications" or "Privacy". Scroll down until you find "Send read receipts" or "Read receipts". Tap the toggle to turn it on. The toggle will show as active (usually blue or with a checkmark).
Samsung Messages may also show a separate option for "Delivery reports" — this is different from read receipts. Delivery reports tell you when a message reached the recipient's phone. Read receipts tell you when they opened it. You can turn on one, both, or neither.
How to turn on read receipts in WhatsApp
Open WhatsApp. Tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner (on some phones, this is at the bottom). Select "Settings".
Tap "Privacy". Look for an option called "Read receipts". Tap the toggle to turn it on. When read receipts are on in WhatsApp, you will see two blue checkmarks next to your messages when someone has read them. The sender will also see two blue checkmarks when you read their messages.
WhatsApp's read receipts work in individual chats and in group chats. If you turn them off, other people will not see when you have read their messages, but you also will not see when they have read yours.
How to manage read receipts for specific contacts
Some Android messaging apps let you turn read receipts on overall but disable them for certain people. In Google Messages, open a conversation with a contact, tap the three vertical dots at the top, and look for an option like "Mute notifications" or "Block". This does not turn off read receipts for that person specifically — it mutes their messages.
WhatsApp does not offer a way to turn read receipts off for one contact while keeping them on for others. If you turn read receipts off in WhatsApp Settings, they are off for everyone. The same is true for Samsung Messages — the setting applies to all conversations.
If you need to hide your read status from one specific person, your only option is to turn read receipts off entirely in that app's settings, which affects all your conversations.
What happens when read receipts are off
When read receipts are turned off, people who text you will see only one checkmark (or no checkmark at all, depending on the app) next to their message. One checkmark usually means the message was delivered to your phone. Two checkmarks or a "read" label means you opened it. With read receipts off, they will never see that second checkmark.
Turning read receipts off does not delete past read receipts — it only stops new ones from being sent. If someone saw that you read their message yesterday, turning the setting off today will not hide that information retroactively.
You can turn read receipts on and off as many times as you want. There is no penalty or record kept of how many times you change the setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell I turned off read receipts?
Not directly. They will notice that your messages no longer show a "read" status, but they cannot see a log of when you turned the setting off. If you had read receipts on for months and suddenly they stop appearing, an observant person might guess you turned them off, but the app does not notify them.
Do read receipts work across different messaging apps?
No. Read receipts only work within the same app. If you text someone through Google Messages and they use WhatsApp, your read receipts will not sync between the two apps. Each app has its own read receipt system.
What if my phone does not have a read receipts option?
Your messaging app may not support the feature, or your Android version may be too old. Try updating your messaging app through the Google Play Store. If the option still does not appear after an update, the app version you are using does not include read receipts.
Does turning on read receipts use more battery or data?
No. Read receipts use a negligible amount of data — just a small notification sent back to the sender. The impact on battery life is not measurable.
Can I see read receipts for group chats?
Yes, in most apps. Google Messages, Samsung Messages, and WhatsApp all show read receipts in group conversations. You will see checkmarks next to each message indicating who has read it, though the layout varies by app.