How to Know if Someone Turned Off Read Receipts
Read receipts let the sender know their message has been delivered and read. These notifications will appear within the messaging application in some form or another.
Users who prefer to monitor their messages will benefit from read receipts; however, others choose to turn off their read receipts to maintain some anonymity when messaging.
So, how can you tell if someone turns their read receipts off?
The answer to this question varies depending on the type of messaging service used. Read on to learn how to use read receipts in a variety of the most popular messaging apps available.
How to Tell if Someone Turned Their Read Receipts Off
Most major messaging platforms have a read receipts feature, but not all of them make it easy to turn this feature off or to tell if someone has turned it off on their end.
Here is how to use read receipts in a few of the most commonly-used messaging apps.
iMessage
iMessage enables read receipts by default but allows users to customize their read receipts. If you send a text via iMessage to another iPhone, you will see the blue bubble in the chat window. Underneath you will see the status marked as either 'Sent,' 'Delivered,' 'Read.'
iMessage settings allow users to turn on read receipts for certain contacts while keeping them turned off for others. Assuming you only see the word 'Delivered' in grey under the message you've sent, the recipient has turned their read receipts off.
If the bubble is green, it means the recipient isn't using an iPhone which means read receipts will not work.
(Want to know how to turn your read receipts on or off on iPhone? Check out our tutorial article on read receipt settings for iPhone.)
Messages (Android)
One of the newer features of Android phones is Rich Communication Services (RCS). This function allows Android users to see read receipts similar to Apple's iPhone.
Once you have Chat (Google's own marketing name for RCS), you'll finally be able to view typing indicators and read receipts with those who also have RCS enabled on their phone.
Read receipts can be disabled within the Chat settings in Messages. If someone has read receipts disabled, the checks won't appear within the app.
Signal
Signal shows message statuses by default, although you can turn it off if you wish.
A single check mark shows the message was received by the Signal server. Two check marks mean it has been delivered to the recipient. When those two check marks turn blue, it means the recipient has read your message.
If the check marks don't turn blue, they may have turned read receipts off.
WhatsApp also uses the check mark system to show message status. Like Signal, you can also turn off read receipts if you want to.
One gray check mark means your message was sent. Two gray check marks mean it was delivered. Two blue check marks mean the message has been read. You can press and hold the message to see what time it was read if you really need to.
If the two check marks stay gray, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook messenger read receipts work much the same as the other messaging applications mentioned. Facebook Messenger uses circles.
A blue circle means your message is being sent. A blue circle with a check mark means it has been successfully sent. A filled blue circle with a check mark means it has been delivered. A profile pic under the message means it has been read.
If that profile picture doesn't appear, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Facebook does not offer users an option to turn off Read Receipts from inside the application, but there are workarounds if you'd like to keep your message reading activities anonymous. Read our article on turning off read receipts in Messenger.
Telegram
Telegram also provides read receipts by default and allows you to turn them off if you want. A single green check mark means the message has been received, while two green check marks means your message has been read.
If you don't see that second green check mark, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Instagram DMs have a very simple read receipt system. If your message has been opened; the word 'Seen' will appear beneath the message. If you're in a conversation with multiple people, then an eye icon along with the Instagram name of the person who has seen your message appears.
If you don't see the 'Seen' text or the eye icon, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Snapchat
On Snapchat, when your message reaches your correspondent's inbox, the word 'Delivered' will appear on the app. Once they've actually opened the message, it will read 'Opened.'
Snapchat doesn't allow you to disable the ability to see if a Snap or a message is open, so if you don't want to use a platform with read receipts, don't use Snapchat.
On the other hand, if you want to communicate with someone who doesn't like read receipts but does have a Snapchat, you'll know for sure when they opened your message within Snapchat.
LinkedIn does offer users the option to turn off read receipts. Once a message is read, the recipient's profile photo will appear below the message. If this profile picture doesn't show but the person has responded, it's likely their read receipts have been turned off.
See our tutorial article about how to tell whether someone read your message in LinkedIn.
Final Thoughts
Read receipts are useful for those who'd like to ensure they're notified when their messages have been read. They verify delivery and set your mind at ease. They hold you accountable for replying and maintaining dialog with the other person. The use of these notifications may encourage us to maintain relationships with other people and dissuades us from going hermit and not interacting with others.
However, many users prefer to turn read receipts off to maintain some privacy and have less accountability when it comes to responding in a timely manner. If you want to check whether or not one of your friends has turned read receipts off, the easiest way to do so is to simply send a message, wait for a reply, and see whether or not you get a 'Seen' notification.
How to Know if Someone Turned Off Read Receipts
Source: https://www.alphr.com/tell-turned-read-receipts-off/#:~:text=Two%20gray%20check%20marks%20mean,have%20turned%20read%20receipts%20off.