Are you wondering how to turn off read receipts on your Android phone? Trust me, I’ve been there too. Having someone know that I kept their messages on read is not a situation I’d prefer being in. It becomes worse if I accidentally forget to reply to someone close!
The read receipts feature lets you know whether the recipient has read your messages. Hence, it’s inconvenient if you want to view the messages discreetly. So, here I’ll share the steps to disable read receipts on Android messages. Before that, let’s understand how read receipts work.
How does Android read receipts feature work?
Read receipts only work when you and the recipients both have turned on RCS chat on Android’s built-in Google Messages app and are using a stable internet connection. If you enable read receipts, the sender will know whether you’ve read their messages.
Similarly, if your friends keep their read receipts on, you’ll be able to see whether they’ve read your texts. However, unlike the iPhone, Google Messages doesn’t allow you to turn off read receipts for specific contacts.
Therefore, if you want to read SMS messages without the sender knowing, you must disable the read receipts feature altogether on your Android. Let’s jump into the steps!
How to turn off read receipts on Android text messages
- Open Messages by Google on your Android phone.
- Tap the Profile icon in the top right corner.
- Go to Message settings.
- Tap RCS chats.
- Toggle off Send read receipts.
Once you disable the read receipts, your contacts can no longer see the Read label and the time stamp under your messages.
As I mentioned earlier, the read receipts feature is available only when you’ve turned on RCS chats in your Messages app’s settings. Hence, turning off RCS chats can also disable the feature. However, keep in mind that it hinders other texting features, too.
Turn off read receipts for reduced stress levels!
Read receipts can sometimes cause unnecessary stress, especially when you leave the sender ‘on read’ and think they will feel ignored or overlooked. Also, you may feel pressured to reply after reading the message. Therefore, disabling it provides a more relaxed communication experience.
What are your views about read receipts? Let me know in the comment section!
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