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 "Read" label with a timestamp appears under their text in the Messages app — but only if they are also using iMessage, not regular SMS text messages.
The setting lives in your iPhone's main Settings app, not in Messages itself. You turn it on or off for all your conversations at once; you cannot enable it for just one person or one chat thread.
Read receipts work only between iPhones, iPads, and Macs. If someone is texting you from an Android phone using regular SMS, they will not see when you read their message no matter what you do on your end.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show the other person a "Read" timestamp when you open their iMessage, but only if they also use an Apple device.
- The setting is in Settings > Messages > Send Read Receipts, and you toggle it on or off for all conversations at the same time.
- Read receipts do not work with regular SMS text messages or with people texting from Android phones.
- Turning read receipts off means others cannot see when you have read their messages, which can be useful if you want privacy about your response time.
Step-by-step: turning read receipts on
Open the Settings app on your home screen. Scroll down and tap Messages. You will see a list of options related to how your texts work.
Look for the toggle next to Send Read Receipts. If the toggle is gray and to the left, read receipts are off. Tap it once to turn it green and to the right — that means read receipts are now on. The change takes effect when ready; you do not need to restart your phone.
Once you turn it on, anyone texting you through iMessage will see "Read" with the time under their message as soon as you open the conversation. If you change your mind later, return to the same setting and tap the toggle again to turn it off.
Why you might want to turn read receipts off
Some people turn off read receipts because they do not want others to know they have seen a message but have not replied yet. If you read a text at work and plan to respond later, the sender will not see that you have already opened it.
Read receipts can also create social pressure. If someone sees you read their message five minutes ago, they may expect a reply right away, even if you are busy or need time to think. Turning them off removes that visibility.
You can turn read receipts on for some people by using Focus modes, which let you silence notifications and change settings based on who is contacting you. However, the simplest approach is to keep the global setting off if you prefer privacy about when you read messages.
Read receipts on group chats
In a group iMessage conversation, read receipts work the same way — everyone in the chat can see when each person has read the latest message. If you have the setting turned on, your name will appear in the list under the message with a "Read" timestamp.
If one person in the group has read receipts turned off, their name will not appear in that list, and the group will not know when they have opened the message. This can be useful if you want to stay in a group chat without broadcasting your activity.
What happens if the other person has read receipts off
If someone texting you has read receipts turned off on their phone, you will not see a "Read" label under your messages to them, even if you have read receipts turned on. The setting is one-way — it only shows your status to them, not theirs to you.
There is no way to force someone to send you read receipts or to see when they have read your message if they have chosen to turn the feature off. You can only control your own setting.
Read receipts versus typing indicators
Typing indicators are different from read receipts. A typing indicator is the three dots that appear when someone is actively writing a message to you. Read receipts show that a message has been opened and read.
You can turn typing indicators on or off in the same Messages settings menu — look for the toggle labeled Show Typing Indicator. Turning it off means others will not see the three dots when you are composing a message, but they will still see read receipts if you have that setting on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn read receipts on for just one person?
No. The read receipts setting applies to all your iMessage conversations at once. If you want to hide your read status from one specific person, you would need to turn off read receipts entirely, which affects everyone.
Do read receipts work with regular text messages?
No. Read receipts only work with iMessage, which is Apple's messaging service. If someone is texting you using regular SMS or MMS (standard text messages), they will not see a read receipt even if you have the setting turned on.
What if I turn off read receipts after someone has already seen my previous messages?
Turning off read receipts only affects messages going forward. People will not see read receipts on new messages you receive, but the setting does not change anything about messages that were already sent and read in the past.
Can I see read receipts on messages I sent before I turned the setting on?
No. Read receipts only appear on messages sent after you turn the setting on. Messages you sent while read receipts were off will not show read status, even if you turn the setting on later.
Does turning off read receipts save battery or data?
No. Read receipts use a negligible amount of battery and data. Turning them off will not noticeably improve your phone's performance or reduce your data usage.