Read receipts tell the sender when you have opened their message
A read receipt is a notification that appears in a messaging app to show the sender that you have opened and seen their message. When you turn read receipts on, the other person gets a visual indicator — usually a checkmark, timestamp, or "Seen" label — showing the exact moment you read what they sent. When you turn them off, the sender has no way to know whether you have opened their message, only that it was delivered to your phone.
Read receipts exist in most modern messaging platforms: iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Gmail, Slack, and many others. The feature is on by default in some apps and off by default in others. You control whether your own read receipts are visible to other people through your app settings, and you can usually turn them on or off for all conversations at once, or for individual contacts.
Key Takeaways
- Read receipts show the sender when you have opened their message, usually with a checkmark, timestamp, or "Seen" label.
- Turning read receipts off means senders cannot see when you read their messages, though they can still see that messages were delivered.
- Different apps handle read receipts differently — some show them by default, others require you to turn them on, and some let you disable them per conversation.
- Read receipts create social pressure because people expect a response once they see you have read their message.
How read receipts appear in different apps
In iMessage (Apple's messaging system), read receipts show as "Delivered" when the message reaches your phone, then change to "Read" with a timestamp once you open the conversation. The sender sees this in their message thread. You can turn iMessage read receipts off in Settings > Messages > Send Read Receipts.
In WhatsApp, a single gray checkmark means the message was sent, a double gray checkmark means it was delivered to your phone, and a double blue checkmark means you have read it. You can disable read receipts in Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts, though doing so also prevents you from seeing when others have read your messages.
Facebook Messenger shows "Seen" with a timestamp below messages you have opened. Gmail can be set to show read receipts on individual emails, though the recipient must have enabled the feature to see them. Slack shows when you have read a message in the thread view. Each app's settings are in a different place, so check your app's privacy or notification settings to find the toggle.
Why people turn read receipts off
The main reason people disable read receipts is to avoid the expectation of an immediate response. Once someone sees you have read their message, they often expect you to reply right away. Turning read receipts off removes that pressure — the sender knows the message was delivered, but they cannot tell whether you have seen it yet, so they are less likely to feel ignored if you do not respond immediately.
Some people turn read receipts off because they want privacy about their habits. Read receipts reveal when you are actively using your phone and paying attention, which some find intrusive. Others disable them in group chats where they want to lurk without signaling that they are present. In professional settings, some people turn them off to avoid appearing to ignore work messages when they are actually busy with other tasks.
Read receipts can also create awkwardness in personal relationships. If someone sees you have read their message but you have not replied, they may feel hurt or rejected, even if you simply have not had time to respond yet. Turning them off sidesteps that dynamic entirely.
The difference between read receipts and delivery receipts
A delivery receipt tells you that a message reached the recipient's device. A read receipt tells you that the recipient opened and saw the message. These are two separate things, and most apps show both.
You can usually see delivery receipts even if read receipts are turned off. In WhatsApp, for example, the double gray checkmark (delivered) appears whether or not the recipient has read receipts enabled. The double blue checkmark (read) only appears if they have read receipts turned on. This means if someone has disabled read receipts, you will see your message was delivered, but you will never know if they actually opened it.
How to turn read receipts on or off
On iPhone, open Settings, scroll to Messages, and toggle "Send Read Receipts" on or off. This controls whether others see when you read their iMessages.
On Android, the process varies by app. In WhatsApp, go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. In Facebook Messenger, open your profile, tap "Privacy", and look for read receipt settings. In Gmail, you can request read receipts on individual emails by clicking the three dots in the compose window and selecting "Request read receipt".
On Mac, open Messages, go to Preferences > General, and check or uncheck "Send read receipts". In Slack, read receipts are not a user-controlled setting — the app shows when you have read messages in threads, and you cannot disable this.
Most apps let you turn read receipts on or off for all conversations at once through settings. Some apps, like Facebook Messenger, also let you disable read receipts for specific people or group chats individually, though this option is less common.
What happens when someone has read receipts turned off
If someone has disabled read receipts, you will not see when they read your messages. You will see "Delivered" or a similar indicator, but no "Read" or "Seen" status will ever appear. This does not mean the message failed to reach them — it just means they have chosen not to share that information with you.
Some people interpret a lack of read receipts as a sign that someone is avoiding them, but that is not necessarily true. The person may simply have read receipts disabled for everyone, or they may have turned them off because they do not want the pressure of responding immediately. Disabling read receipts is a privacy choice, not a statement about how much someone values a conversation.
Read receipts in group chats and work settings
In group chats, read receipts can become complicated. Some apps show individual read receipts for each person in the group, so you can see who has read the message and who has not. Others show a single indicator that the message has been read by at least one person. This can create pressure in work group chats, where managers or team leads may expect everyone to have seen an important message.
In professional messaging apps like Slack, read receipts are often always on, and there is no way to disable them. This is by design — employers and teams want to know that important messages have been seen. Some workplaces have policies about responding to messages within a certain time after they are marked as read. If you work in an environment like this, turning off read receipts is not an option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell if I read their message if I have read receipts turned off?
No. If you have disabled read receipts, the sender will see that your message was delivered, but they will have no way to know whether you actually opened and read it. They cannot override your privacy setting or find out any other way.
If I turn off read receipts, can I still see when others read my messages?
It depends on the app. In WhatsApp, turning off read receipts disables them for both directions — you cannot see others' read receipts, and they cannot see yours. In iMessage, you can turn off your own read receipts independently of whether you see others' read receipts. Check your specific app's settings.
Does turning off read receipts affect anything else in the app?
No. Disabling read receipts only hides the "read" or "seen" status. Messages still send and deliver normally, notifications still work, and you can still use all other features of the app. It is purely a privacy setting.
Why do some apps not let you turn off read receipts?
Some apps, particularly workplace messaging tools like Slack, keep read receipts on by design because employers want to know that messages have been seen. Other apps may not offer the option because they consider read receipts a core feature. You can only turn them off in apps where the developer has included that setting.
If I turn read receipts back on, will the sender see all my past messages as read?
No. Turning read receipts back on only affects new messages going forward. Past messages will not retroactively show as read. The sender will only see read status for messages you open after you enable the feature.