How To Turn Off Read Receipts On iPhone: The Real Fix!

You don’t want people to know when you’ve read their iMessages, but you’re not sure how to do it. We all know that friend or family member who gets upset when you don’t respond right away! In this article, I’ll demonstrate how to turn off read receipts on an iPhone so people won’t know when you’ve opened and read their iMessages!

What Are Read Receipts On An iPhone?

Read Receipts are notifications that your iPhone sends to individuals who you send iMessages to. If the person you’re texting has Send Read Receipts turned on, you’ll be able to see the word Read as well as the time they read your iMessage. Likewise, if you have Send Read Receipts turned on, the person you’re texting will be able to see when you read their iMessages.

read receipt sent imessage

How To Turn Off Read Receipts On iPhone

To turn off read receipts on an iPhone, open the Settings app and tap Messages. Then, turn off the switch next to Send Read Receipts. You’ll know it’s off when the switch is positioned to the left.

turn off read receipts on iPhone

Now when you open and read an iMessage, the person who sent the message will only see Delivered.

iMessage delivered

Can I Send Read Receipts When I Send A Text Message?

No, regular text messages do not send read receipts. So, if you text someone who has an Android or another non-Apple phone, they won’t be able to see if you’ve ever read their message. Read Receipts only send when you text someone iMessages.

What If I Want To Turn Read Receipts Back On?

If you ever want to turn read receipts back on, simply go back into Settings -> Messages and turn on the switch next to Send Read Receipts. You’ll know Send Read Receipts is on when the switch is green and positioned to the right.

Would You Like A Copy Of Your Receipt?

You now know how to turn off read receipts on your iPhone and now people won’t know when you read their iMessages. Feel free to leave a comment down below if you have any other questions about your iPhone!

Thanks for reading,
David L.

About Author

David Lynch is an expert on cell phones, cell phone plans, and other tech. After using a flip phone into his early 20s, he learned the ropes about iPhones and Androids from a former Apple employee. Today, his articles and videos are read and viewed by millions, and he has been cited by major publications including Reader's Digest, Wired, CMSWire, Consumers Advocate, and more.

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MICHAEL BARRY
6 months ago

My friends send read receipts button is on and the read is not coming across after years of receiving them I’m trying to figure out could something else me making
Me not able to receive the read message from him. What else could it be? We have turned the read Off for a few minutes turn it back on and there has to be something else on one of our phones That’s affecting this function because it’s not working… Can you help me?

Rose
3 years ago

Mine is turned off on my new iPhone 12 but can still see Read. Help?

Chris
4 years ago

Same issue. Annoying

Bonnie Bryan
4 years ago

My “send read receipts”is turned off at my settings on my Iphone 11. However when I send myself messages, I get a read receipt right away to myself. I do a lot of texting or messaging to myself and I edit them before I send them out to other people. Yeah I am seeing my own read receipts.

Karen Fauer
4 years ago
Reply to  Bonnie Bryan

I’m having the same issue! I send texts to myself sometimes as reminders. All of a sudden, I’m getting “read” under my texts to myself. I asked someone else to send me a text, and they are not getting the read receipt when I read it. However it still concerns me that I’m sending it to some people. is this just something that’s caused by the latest IOS update?

Dwayne Chapman
3 years ago
Reply to  Bonnie Bryan

Did you ever figure out what had happened? I’m having the same issue

Anonymous
6 years ago

Hello
I have gone under settings and then messages and turned of the read receipt but I am still getting notifications from 1 person continuously. 75 last night. Can u help