How to Turn Off Read Receipts on All Your Messaging Apps

We ’ve make out a recollective way of life since the early days of SMS : 160 character per message and not a poser in sight . The chat apps of today come pack with functionality and features , including read receipts , so that you know when your sent messages have been seen — and so your contacts recognise when you ’ve seen their messages too . If you ’d rather not be that transparent , here ’s how to turn those nasty little blabbermouth off .

incapacitate read receipt sometimes comes with a trade - off , which is that you ca n’t see when other the great unwashed have front at your content either . You might be perfectly happy with this via media , but it ’s one that you may have to put up with in return for keeping people guessing about whether or not you ’ve seen their subject matter . There are a duad of alternate workarounds , which we ’ll get to at the end , but they ’re not foolproof .

iMessage

To turn off read receipts in iMessage as a whole , open setting on your iPhone and take Messages then place Read Receipts . you could also change state read gross on or off for individual conversation : open up a schmoose , then tap the tangency entropy at the top of the silver screen , then choose Send Read Receipts ( it will be set to the arrangement set by default ) .

If you ’d rather read receipts were n’t used in your WhatsApp conversation , there ’s a global mount that you’re able to find by tap stage setting ( it ’s behind the three Elvis on Android ) , then Account , Privacy , and Read receipts . notice that read receipts are always turned on in group conversations on WhatsApp , so there ’s no way of getting away from them there .

Signal

you’re able to regain the alternative to turn off read receipts in Signal by tapping your visibility picture in the top remaining corner , then options ( only if you ’re on iOS ) , then Privacy and Read receipts . The setting applies to all your conversation . There ’s a freestanding Typing indicators selection available in Signal , just underneath Read receipt , which you could also change state on or off as needed .

There ’s actually no way to turn off read receipts on Telegram . All you could do is obliterate your online / offline status from specific people or everyone : First , tap the menu button ( top left ) then configurations on Android , or just scene on the independent screen on iOS . Then , you need to pick Privacy and Security and Last Seen & Online , and make your choice from the tilt .

Instagram

Instagram is another app that does n’t take into account you to turn off read receipts . What you could do , however , is hide your overall action condition — so no one else knows when you were last combat-ready in the app . Tap your account icon ( bottom right ) , then the menu button ( top rightfulness ) , then preferences , Privacy , and natural process status to call on the relevant toggle substitution on or off .

Twitter

If you ’d rather that your DMs in Twitter did n’t show read receipts , start the app and beg your profile picture ( top left ) , then options and privateness . select Privacy and safe , then lineal content , and you ’ll find the Show read receipts toggle switch . take note that read receipts are n’t usher on requests ( incoming content from masses you do n’t follow ) .

Google Chat

Google Chat is in our list here only so we can say that turning off read reception in the app is n’t presently possible , so do n’t worry about wasting time hunt around for the setting . you’re able to position your status to forth ( tap the menu button in the top remaining recession of the app to do this ) , but that ’s as far as it become when it come to hold in your app activity from others .

Google Messages

It ’s a different write up in the RCS - enabled Google Messages app for Android , the one that ’s the default courier on Pixel phones . tip the three dots in the top right corner , then choose options and Chat feature : you could call on the Send read gross toggle switch switch on or off from here , and there ’s another toggle switch substitution for Show type indicator too .

Facebook Messenger

Like several other apps we ’ve listed here , you just have to be with read receipts in Facebook Messenger , as there ’s no way to turn them off . What you may do to protect your secrecy to a sure extent is hide your current status in the app : Tap your account avatar ( top odd ) , then choose Active Status to incur the Show when you ’re dynamic toggle switch .

The workarounds

There are a couple of caper to bang about for understand messages without permit anyone make love you ’ve read them . The first is to read them via the notice trailer and then dismiss the alerting , without actually opening the app at all — though this is less effectual for farseeing subject matter , as you wo n’t be able-bodied to see the full text .

To exchange how much text is prove in a chat notification on Android , undefended options and then take notification : you could make certain as much of your message are shown as possible by enabling notification on lock screen and Sensitive telling .

On iOS , open options , then pick Notifications , then make certain Show Previews is ready to Always . From the Notifications screen , you could also foot mortal confabulation apps and set them to always show incoming schmooze alerts as full banners on concealment .

Photo:Asterfolio/Unsplash

The second trick is to put your phone in plane fashion before open up your schmooze app and reading the subject matter — with no connection to the outside world , the read reception ca n’t be sent . This workaround depends on the incoming content being squirrel away locally ( some apps do this , some do n’t ) , and it also means you wo n’t be able to do much with your phone until it ’s back out of aeroplane fashion … at which full point the read reception will be sent .

These workarounds are n’t necessarily ideal , but they might corrupt you a bit of time between reading a message and ingest to answer to it , especially if you ’re using a chat app that does n’t admit an desegregate feature for turn off read revenue .

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