How to Turn Off Read Receipts and Typing Indicators on WhatsApp, iMessage and Android Messages in the US

That little blue tick or the word "Read" under your message changes the whole conversation. Once the other person knows you saw it, the wait for a reply begins. Read receipts and typing indicators are useful, but they also take away the quiet choice to read now and reply later. If you want that choice back, you can turn both off on WhatsApp, iMessage and Android Messages. Here is how it works on each app, and what you give up when you hide them.

What read receipts and typing indicators actually do

Read receipts tell the sender you opened their message. On WhatsApp, that is the blue double tick. On iMessage, it is the word "Read" and a time under the message. On Android Messages, it is a small "Read" label on an RCS chat. A typing indicator is the "typing…" bubble or the three moving dots that appear while the other person is writing.

Both are simple ideas, and both carry a quiet pressure. A receipt tells the sender you saw the message, which can make a slow reply look like ignoring them. A typing indicator shows you are mid-sentence, which can feel like an audience watching you write. Turning them off removes that pressure, but it also hides information you might want from other people.

Before you start: one rule that applies everywhere

Every major app follows the same rule, and it matters more than any setting. Hiding your read receipts also hides other people's read receipts from you. WhatsApp, iMessage and Android Messages all work this way. If you turn receipts off, you will no longer see whether the people you message have read your messages either. The switch is mutual. There is no way to hide your receipts while still seeing theirs.

The same logic does not apply to typing indicators on every app. On WhatsApp, turning off read receipts does not hide typing indicators. On iMessage and Android Messages, the settings are separate. Check each app below.

How to turn off read receipts and typing indicators on WhatsApp

Open WhatsApp, then go to Settings. On iPhone, tap Settings in the bottom right. On Android, tap the three dots in the top right, then Settings. Tap Privacy, then scroll to Read receipts and switch it off.

Once it is off, your contacts will no longer see blue ticks when you read their messages, and you will no longer see blue ticks when they read yours. Group chats are the one exception. In a group, the read receipt still appears when every member has read the message, because the group needs a shared view of who has seen it. You cannot turn that off.

Typing indicators on WhatsApp cannot be switched off. The "typing…" label will still appear when you are writing in a chat, and you will still see it when others type. Turning off read receipts changes only the blue ticks.

How to turn off read receipts and typing indicators on iMessage

Open the Settings app on your iPhone, scroll down to Apps, tap Messages, and switch off Send Read Receipts. From then on, people will not see "Read" under the messages you open. They will still see "Delivered".

Typing indicators on iMessage are tied to the same screen. On the Messages settings page, the Send Read Receipts switch controls receipts only. There is no separate switch for the typing dots. If you want to hide when you are typing, the only reliable option is to turn off iMessage's typing indicator by leaving the conversation, since iMessage shows the dots whenever you have the conversation open and are typing. For most people, the practical answer is that the typing dots cannot be fully hidden on iMessage, so the receipts switch is the main control.

How to turn off read receipts and typing indicators on Android Messages

Open the Google Messages app, tap your profile picture in the top right, then tap Message settings. Tap RCS chats and switch off Send read receipts. Once it is off, your contacts will no longer see when you have read their RCS messages, and you will no longer see their read status either.

Typing indicators work the same way. On the same RCS chats screen, switch off Show typing indicators. That hides your typing dots from others and hides theirs from you. Both settings sit together, so it is easy to turn off one and leave the other on by mistake. Check both switches before you leave the screen.

One detail to watch: these settings only apply to RCS chats. If the conversation falls back to SMS or MMS, read receipts and typing indicators do not apply at all, because SMS has no read status. Your settings will simply have no effect on those chats.

What changes when you hide them

The first change is privacy. Nobody can tell from a tick or a label that you have read their message, so you can read now and reply when you are ready. The second change is the loss of information in the other direction. You will not know whether your messages have been read either, which can make an important message feel uncertain.

Group chats and work chats deserve a thought. In a group, WhatsApp still shows read receipts when everyone has read the message. In a work chat, hiding receipts can look like silence, so it helps to tell the people who need a quick answer that you still reply promptly. The setting hides a label, not your behaviour, and the people you talk to will still form their own view from how fast you answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I turn off read receipts, can I still see when others read my messages?

No. On WhatsApp, iMessage and Android Messages, the switch is mutual. When you hide your read receipts, you also stop seeing theirs. There is no setting that hides your receipts while keeping theirs visible.

Can I turn off typing indicators on WhatsApp?

No. WhatsApp has no switch for typing indicators. Turning off read receipts only hides the blue ticks. The "typing…" label will still show while you are writing, and you will still see it when others type.

Do read receipts work on SMS and MMS?

No. Read receipts and typing indicators are features of internet messaging such as RCS, iMessage and WhatsApp. An SMS or MMS message has no read status, so your settings have no effect on those conversations. If a chat falls back to SMS, neither side will see a read receipt.