Where to find the read receipt setting
Read receipts are turned on or off in the Messages app settings, not in your general iPhone settings. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Messages, then look for the toggle next to Send Read Receipts. When the toggle is green, people can see when you've read their messages. When it's off (gray), they cannot.
This setting applies to all your text conversations at once — you cannot turn read receipts on for one person and off for another using this method. If you want to hide your read status from specific people, you'll need a different approach, which we cover below.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts are controlled in Settings > Messages > Send Read Receipts, and the toggle applies to all your conversations.
- Turning off read receipts means people won't see when you've read their messages, but you also won't see when they've read yours.
- If you want to hide your read status from only certain people, you can disable read receipts just for group chats or use the Disable Typing Indicators option alongside it.
- Turning off read receipts does not prevent people from knowing you're active on your phone — they can still see if you're online in some apps like iMessage.
What happens when you turn read receipts off
When you disable read receipts, the people texting you will no longer see the words "Delivered" change to "Read" with a timestamp. Instead, their message will stay marked as "Delivered" even after you've opened and read it. This removes the pressure to respond when ready and gives you privacy around when you actually look at your messages.
The trade-off is that you also lose the ability to see when others have read your messages. If you send someone a text, you won't know if they've seen it or if it's still sitting unread on their phone. Some people find this loss of information worth the privacy gain; others prefer to keep read receipts on so they can tell whether someone is ignoring them or genuinely hasn't seen the message yet.
Turning off read receipts for group chats only
If you want to keep read receipts on for one-on-one conversations but turn them off for group texts, you can do this at the conversation level. Open a group chat, tap the group name or icon at the top, scroll down, and toggle off Send Read Receipts. This setting overrides your general Messages setting for that specific group only.
This approach is useful if you're in a large group chat where read receipts create constant notifications, but you still want people to know you've seen their individual texts. You can explore this to as many group chats as you want without affecting your one-on-one conversations.
Hiding your typing indicator along with read receipts
Read receipts show when you've read a message, but typing indicators show when you're actively composing a reply. If you want full privacy around your messaging activity, turn off both. In Settings > Messages, you'll find Show Typing Indicator — toggle this off as well.
When both are off, people won't see that you're typing, and they won't see when you've read their message. Combined, these settings give you the most control over what others know about your messaging behavior. Keep in mind that this applies to all conversations, just like the read receipt setting.
Why someone might want to hide their read status
Some people turn off read receipts because they want time to think before responding, without the pressure of someone knowing they've already seen the message. Others use it to avoid the expectation of an when ready reply. Parents sometimes disable read receipts to prevent their children from knowing exactly when they've seen a message.
There's also a practical side: if you're in a high-volume group chat, read receipts can create dozens of notifications as people see and respond to messages. Turning them off reduces notification clutter. None of these reasons are about deception — they're about controlling how much of your attention and availability you broadcast to others.
What read receipts do not hide
Turning off read receipts does not make you invisible. People can still see your active status in iMessage if you have Show Last Seen turned on in Settings > Messages. They can also see if you're online in other apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger — those apps have their own read receipt and active status settings that work independently of your iPhone's Messages app.
If you want to hide your online status across multiple apps, you'll need to check the privacy settings in each one. Some apps let you disable read receipts and active status; others don't. There's no single iPhone setting that hides your activity everywhere.
Re-enabling read receipts if you change your mind
If you turn off read receipts and later decide you want them back, the process is the same: Settings > Messages > Send Read Receipts, and toggle it back on. Your contacts will when ready start seeing when you've read their messages again. There's no delay or notification — it takes effect right away.
You can toggle this setting on and off as often as you want. Some people turn it off during busy periods when they don't want the pressure to respond, then turn it back on when things calm down. There's no penalty for changing your mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I turn off read receipts, will people know I did it?
No. People won't receive a notification that you've disabled read receipts. They'll straightforward stop seeing "Read" on their messages from you. Over time, they might notice the pattern and assume you've turned them off, but the iPhone doesn't announce the change.
Can I turn off read receipts for just one person?
Not directly through iPhone settings. Your read receipt setting applies to everyone. However, you can disable read receipts for specific group chats by opening the chat, tapping the group name, and toggling off Send Read Receipts for that conversation only. For one-on-one chats, your only option is to turn off read receipts for all conversations.
Does turning off read receipts stop people from seeing I'm online?
No. Read receipts and active status are separate. People can still see you're online in iMessage if you have Show Last Seen enabled. To hide your active status, go to Settings > Messages and turn off Show Last Seen. This prevents people from seeing when you were last active in iMessage.
What's the difference between read receipts and typing indicators?
Read receipts show when you've opened and read a message. Typing indicators show when you're actively writing a reply. You can turn each one off independently. Some people disable both for maximum privacy; others keep one on and turn the other off depending on their preference.
If I turn off read receipts, do I still get notifications when messages arrive?
Yes. Turning off read receipts only affects whether people can see when you've read their messages. It doesn't change your notification settings. You'll still get alerts, sounds, or badges for incoming texts — that's controlled separately in Settings > Notifications > Messages.