Read receipts are a great feature for mission-critical, time-sensitive communications. However, there are situations when you cannot answer. Also, you don’t want senders to be offended when they know you’ve read their messages. In such a case, it is useful to know how to turn off read receipts on Android.
We’ll show you how to turn off read receipts for various forms of online communication.
What are read reports?
Read reports show the opening of messages. You can track recipients’ open times when sending messages with read receipts turned on. Just like you will know when you open someone else’s emails, they will know about it.
What happens when you turn off read receipts?
Senders won’t know if you’ve opened their messages if you turn off read receipts. Also, if read receipts are turned off, you won’t know if your recipients have received your messages. Thus, read reports serve as a kind of compromise.
How to turn off “read receipts”in Android text messages?
- Click on the three dots after opening messages.
- After that select settings.
- When you click “Settings”, a menu will appear.
- Then select “Chat Features”.
- Click on the adjacent red symbol to turn off read receipts. While you’re at it, you can also disable “show input indicators”to have a bit more privacy when sending texts on your Android phone.
What counts if someone has read your message?
1. The read receipt setting must be enabled for everyone.
You won’t see read receipts from a contact if they have read receipts turned off or if they’re online with another organization.
2. Messages are marked as read when there is activity in the chat.
You won’t receive a read receipt if your message appears in a notification or activity feed. A banner notification can also encourage them to take action. If the chat member is present and responded, you will only receive a read receipt.
What doesn’t trigger a read receipt?
As mentioned earlier, the text will only be read if the correspondent is in the chat window. If a message is viewed through a quick entry point such as someone’s profile or banner notification, the message will not be listed as read in the read receipts.
Do you feel like your messages are being ignored on iOS, Android, WhatsApp or Messenger?
If you feel this way, you can turn on read receipts.
- To turn on read receipts on iPhone, go to Settings > Messaging > Turn on read receipts.
- To turn on the read receipt options you want on Android, go to Settings > Chat Options, Text Messages, or Conversations.
- Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts in WhatsApp.
Turn off read receipts on Android smartphones
On Android smartphones, the situation is comparable. The Google Messages app supports read receipts. However, the operator is also required to support this feature. Turn on read receipts to see if the recipient has viewed your message.
To turn on read receipts on Android devices, follow these steps:
- Navigate to settings from the text app. Click on the three vertical dots or lines at the top of the window to open Settings if you don’t see them.
- Visit the pages of conversations, text messages, or chat features. If it’s not on the first screen that appears, click “Advanced Settings”to find this option.
- Depending on your device and what you want to do, turn on (or off) the toggle switches for “Read Receipt”, “Send Read Receipt”, or “Request Notification”.
- To check if your SMS message was sent to the intended recipient, turn on Delivery Notifications. (This option says nothing about whether the message was read.) Select Settings > Advanced > Get SMS Delivery Reports from the Messages app on newer smartphones.
How to turn off read receipts on social media platforms
The downside of turning off read receipts is that you can no longer see if other people have viewed your messages. This decision can make you very happy.
In exchange for people wondering if you’ve seen their posts or not, you may have to put up with it. There are several different solutions, which we will discuss in more detail later.
- Facebook messenger
- iMessage
- Telegram
- Signal
- Google Chat
1. Facebook messenger
You can’t turn off read receipts on Facebook Messenger. You can turn off showing when you’re active so your Facebook friends know you’re not available to chat.
However, the method is the following if you want to view messages without triggering a read receipt:
- Set airplane mode on your device.
- Exit the messenger after reading the texts.
- Log in to the messenger and turn off airplane mode.
2. Instagram
You can’t turn off read receipts on Instagram, but there is a workaround.
Go to the “Settings”menu and select the “Notifications”tab. Turn off message prompts and messages by selecting them from the Calls and Messages menu. You can read Instagram posts without sending read receipts using the following methods.
- Turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode.
- Explore Instagram Posts
- You need to log out of Instagram.
- Turn off airplane mode and sign in to your account.
3. Linkedin
- Select the Communications tab under Settings & Privacy.
- Read receipts and typing indicators are options in the messaging menu.
- Turn off to stop reading tickets.
- Turn on Read Receipts if you want to deliver read receipts for LinkedIn messages.
4. Messages
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone, select Messages, then Send read receipts to turn off read receipts for all iMessages. For specific discussions, you can also enable or disable read receipts:
Start a chat, tap your contact at the top of the screen, and then select “Send read receipts”(it will default to the system settings).
5. Telegram
Telegram’s read receipt feature is not available. The only option is to hide your online and offline status from certain people or everyone:
- On iOS, select “Settings”from the home screen after pressing the menu button (top left).
- On Android, start by selecting Settings. After that, select one of the “Privacy and security”and “Last seen and online”options.
6. Signal
- By clicking on your profile picture in the top left corner of Signal, you can get the option to turn off read receipts.
- If you’re using iOS, go to Settings, then Privacy and Read Receipts.
- All your conversations will depend on the setting. You can also enable or disable Signal’s other typing indicators option, located directly below read receipts.
7. Whatsapp
Go to the WhatsApp settings menu and select the “Account”option. After that, click the “Privacy”menu. A toggle will be visible for read receipts. Turn on the toggle switch to disable read receipts. If you want to send read receipts, please enable this feature as well.
To prevent your contacts from knowing when you’ve been online, you must select the “no one”option in the “Last seen”area when turning off the read receipt.
You should be aware that read receipts for WhatsApp group discussions cannot be turned off.
8. Google chat
- The Google Chat read receipt feature (Hangouts) cannot be disabled directly. You can watch offline to let your audience know that you are not available to chat.
- In the new window that appears after clicking on your Hangouts profile, change your status to “Away”, check the boxes for “Show when you were last active”and “Show what device you’re using”.
9. Twitter
If you prefer to hide read receipts for your personal Twitter messages, follow these steps:
- Click on your profile picture (top left) when the app opens and then select Settings & Privacy.
- Changes to the control marked “Show read receipts”can be found under “Privacy and security”, “Direct communication”, etc.
- Keep in mind that requests – incoming messages from people you don’t follow – don’t display read receipts.
Is it possible to disable read receipts without opening the message?
By default, the iMessage app notifies the sender that the recipient has received their message by sending a “Read”receipt. The sender can no longer tell if you’ve viewed their message if you turn off iMessage read receipts.
How to know if someone has read your text on Samsung?
You’ll see one of the following options: “Read Receipts”, “Send Read Receipts”, or “Request Receipts”depending on your phone type, operating system, and carrier. Turn on the appropriate setting. Go to “Settings”> “Chat Settings”in the “Messages”menu on your Samsung mobile phone. Here you can enable read receipts.
Conclusion
There are a few restrictions on text message read receipts for Android phones. If you live in a particular environment – such as one with a constant network connection and contacts that use major carriers – it’s worth using an app that indicates when a text message has been read.
In any case, it’s not realistic for us to stop using text messaging apps that offer read receipts because people are used to new technologies like WhatsApp and Instagram.
FAQ
Why does my iPhone keep turning on read receipts?
When read receipts are enabled in iOS (Settings > Messaging > Send read receipts), the “Delivered”text that someone sees under an iMessage they sent you changes to “Read”when you see it in the comment thread. Even if you don’t reply, it lets them know that you have viewed the message.
Does iPhone automatically turn off read receipts?
If you’re an iPhone customer, you must go to Settings > Messages and tap the toggle next to Send read receipts. Please turn it on or off depending on your preference.
Can you turn off read receipts on Android?
It’s equally simple for Android. Turn off “Send read receipts”in settings by selecting “Text messages”or “Conversations”.
Do androids have read receipts?
You may see one of the following options: Read Receipts, Send Read Receipts, or Request Receipts depending on your phone type, operating system, and service provider. Activate the appropriate setting. Go to Messages > Menu > Settings > Chat Settings on your Samsung phone. You can enable read receipts here.