To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
Not everyone wants to broadcast the exact moment they read a text message — especially to friends who will agonize if you don't respond within 30 seconds of reading it. If you use WhatsApp, eliminating those pesky timestamps isn't as straightforward as in other messaging applications. You can still do it, though.
On iOS, open the app and go to Settings > Chat settings > Advanced. There, you can switch off the "Last Seen Timestamp." Interestingly, once you toggle this, you won't be able to switch it back (if you have a change of heart) for at least 24 hours.
On Android, things are a bit more complicated. One way to trick the app is to switch off your phone's Wi-Fi and cellular connection (or just putting it in Airplane mode). Next, open WhatsApp to read, compose, and send messages, and then close the app and turn on your phone's connectivity again. WhatsApp will sync with its servers, sending your messages, sans time stamps.
That's a pretty annoying workaround. So another option for Android users is to use an app not available in the Google Play store called Last Not Seen (the APK file is available here). When you launch it, you can choose from "Block Last Seen," "Block Last Seen at Boot Phone," or "Always Recover Wi-Fi." Choose "Block Last Seen." If that doesn't work, check off the second box as well.
Now you can use WhatsApp as much (or little) as you want and not broadcast how often you actually check your messages.
WhatsApp statuses are rolling out progressively worldwide and last week we explained that when you view posts like that, the person who published them can tell. Luckily there’s a way to make yourself invisible to everyone, meaning they won’t see your name amongst those who’ve seen a particular post. The trick is simply to untick the option to use the double-check in the app settings.
The double-check came out on WhatsApp around the end of 2014, so that users would know when recipients had received and read their messages – in doing so unleashing God knows how many misunderstandings and interpersonal spats. The sole way to keep people from seeing when you read something is by unticking the double-check (aka. read receipt) feature in the setup options (though this also removes your ability to see when other people read what you’ve sent them). But what most people don’t realize is that the double-check settings affect WhatsApp statuses too.
To deactivate the double-check, go into Settings > Account > Privacy and then untick Read receipts. From then on no one will know if you’ve read their status, although, again, you’ll also lose the ability to see who’s read your own. BUT – and this is the interesting bit – this feature does not get applied retroactively, meaning if you switch off the read receipts, read a status, and then switch them back on, other people still won’t know you’ve read their status, though you can see keep seeing who’s reading yours.
Whether you just need more time to respond, want to look busy or are trying to ignore someone, the following WhatsApp tips could help you out.
Turn off read receipts
If you're not keen on anyone knowing whether you've read a WhatsApp message or not, this is the trick for you.
Read receipts are the little blue ticks that appear next to a message after a recipient has seen it.
One grey tick means your message has been sent, two grey ticks means it's reached their device and a pair of blue ticks means it's been read.
If you do not want to send or receive read receipts, it's an easy process to turn them off.
First, open the WhatsApp app and select Settings, then Account and then tap Privacy.
Scroll down and tap to uncheck the box next to "Read Receipts" and you have successfully turned them off.
Be warned, if you turn off read receipts you will not be able to see read receipts from other people but this can be a small price to pay for some extra privacy.
Also, a contact may still be able to see if you're online at the same time as them even if read receipts are not triggered.
Go offline
This sneaky trick involves turning off your Wi-Fi and mobile data.
A quick way to do this is to turn on Airplane Mode.
Clear away your notifications, make sure you're completely offline and then open WhatsApp.
You can read your messages without triggering the read receipts and if you've got your read receipts turned off then you can use this trick so no one can see that you're online.
You'll need to fully close WhatsApp before you go back online or blue ticks can be triggered.
The trick works by blocking communication between your smartphone and WhatsApp.
Make use of iPhone 3D Touch
This tip is useful for users of iPhone 6s or newer.
If you fall into this category, you can make use of a a little-known feature called 3D Touch.
The screen has an extra layer of touch sensitivity in it, so by pressing hard on the display, you can bring up new options.
If you tap once on a WhatsApp chat, you'll be taken straight into the messages.
But if you press hard and hold on the WhatsApp chat, you'll get a full-screen preview of what's inside.
This lets you read around a dozen of the latest messages sent in this chat without triggering the WhatsApp blue ticks.
But be careful – if you press too hard, you'll be taken straight into the full chat window, and the blue ticks will appear for the sender.
Once you're done, simply let go and you'll be taken back to the main chat window.
Cameron SummersonCameron Summerson
Editor in Chief/Review Geek
Cameron Summerson is the Editor in Chief of Review Geek and serves as an Editorial Advisor for How-To Geek and LifeSavvy. He’s been covering technology for nearly a decade and has written over 4,000 articles and hundreds of product reviews in that time. He’s been published in print magazines and quoted as a smartphone expert in the New York Times. Read more.
There’s a new trend in the world of instant messaging: letting other people see when you’ve read their message. I can see how this is helpful, but it’s also sometimes annoying—what if you read a message but can’t respond immediately? For many people, they feel like it makes them look rude, regardless of circumstance.
These notifications are called “read receipts”, and it’s not uncommon for users to want to disable them. We’ve covered how to do so in iMessage and WhatsApp in the past. If you’re an Android user (or Google user in general), and use Hangouts for the primary form of messaging, it’s very simple to keep people from knowing you’ve read their message—the setting is just a little cryptic.
We’ll cover how to disable “seen” notification in Android, in the Chrome extension, and on the web down below, but be aware you only have to do it in one place. This setting syncs across your account, making it super easy to control.
How to Disable Hangouts “Seen” Notifications on Android
On your Android phone, open Hangouts. From there, tap the menu button in the top left corner. From there, tap on “Settings.”
In the Account section, choose the account you’d like to tweak.
This is where things get a little weird—you’re going to choose the “Share your status” option.
In this menu there are two options: Last Seen and Device. You’re going to disable the former, as that’s the one that not only allows people to see when you were last active, but also that you read their message. Like I said earlier, it’s not super straightforward.
That’s it. This setting should sync to the desktop as well, so you shouldn’t need to do anything else.
How to Disable Hangouts “Seen” Notification in the Chrome Extension
If you’d prefer to disable this option from the desktop, go ahead and launch the Hangouts app from the Chrome extension, then click the menu button in the upper-left corner.
This will open Hangouts’ Options menu where the conversation window generally is—you just need to disable the first option, labeled “Show when you were last active.”
That’s it! Even easier than Android.
How to Disable Hangouts “Seen” Notifications in Gmail
Lastly, you can disable this setting directly from Gmail if you want. On the main Gmail screen, look to the sidebar, then click the Hangouts balloon icon in the bottom bar.
From here, click the drop-down box with your name, which will open the Options menu. De-select “Show when you were last active.” That’s it.
- › What Is a ULED TV, and How Is It Different?
- › Why Professionals Will Actually Want a 2021 MacBook Pro
- › How to Add Images to Questions in Google Forms
- › How to Delete Your Photos on Facebook
- › Razer Thinks You Want a PC Gaming Headset That Vibrates
Cameron Summerson
Cameron Summerson is the Editor in Chief of Review Geek and serves as an Editorial Advisor for How-To Geek and LifeSavvy. He’s been covering technology for nearly a decade and has written over 4,000 articles and hundreds of product reviews in that time. He’s been published in print magazines and quoted as a smartphone expert in the New York Times.
Read Full Bio »
As of 2018, an incredible 1.5 billion people are using WhatsApp.
And not all of them want their mates to know when they’re read their messages.
WhatsApp has a feature where a sender can find out if their message has been received and then read, practically the same second that it happens.
The message report begins with one grey tick (when sent), then two grey ticks (when the message has reached their phone), then two blue ticks (when it’s been read).
To stop WhatsApp telling a friend you’ve read their message, and to stop the two blue ticks in their tracks, you just need to do one thing.
WhatsApp only knows if you’ve read a message if you’re ‘online’ – ie, if your WiFi or internet data feature is on.
Therefore all you need to do to read a message covertly is this:
- Once your phone has told you a message has arrived, turn off your internet features.
- Head to WhatsApp and read the message.
- Close WhatsApp and turn your internet features on again.
You may have read the message, but if you’ve followed these steps the sender will be none the wiser as the ticks will have remained grey.
Congrats. You’re basically a super-sleuth now.
You can also read a single message without opening it properly (or telling anyone you’ve read it) simply by pulling down the notification drawer at the top of your screen.
However, if you’d rather not show anyone you’ve read any of their messages EVER, you can turn off ‘read receipts’ in your settings too. It’s under the Privacy option.
Have you ever been in that awkward moment where a friend of yours have felt ignored just because you couldn’t reply to his WhatsApp messages?
Have you ever been stuck in that awkward situation where a friend felt offended because you didn’t/couldn’t reply to a WhatsApp message which was assumed you might have read? Or that time when you wanted to read a message but did not want to reply nor let the sender know you read it? Well, there are ways you can avoid such situations on the most used instant-messaging app. There are hacks available that let you read a WhatsApp message without letting the sender know. We thought of helping you out and avoid all that heartache by reading a WhatsApp message without letting the sender know that you have been through them.
Currently, WhatsApp, an instant-messaging app owned by Facebook, has over a billion users. However, while the huge arsenal of features has made WhatsApp the leader in the competition, there are a couple of features which still receive a mixed bag of reactions over their usability as well as their effect on the user experience. Also see: 10 secret WhatsApp tricks you (probably) didn’t know about
One of the most prominent of these being the WhatsApp Blue Tick feature. The advantage of the ‘Blue Tick’ feature is that a user will know whether the receiver has read the message or not, however, at the same time, if you don’t reply to the sender right away, he/she might feel awkward or ignored, which can turn out to be a huge disadvantage of this feature. Also see: How to know if you’re blocked on WhatsApp
But worry not, here we are going to list five ways through which you can stop WhatsApp from telling a friend that you’ve read their message or not, and to stop the two blue ticks right in their tracks.
Drag down the Notification Bar
Almost everyone drags down the notification bar to see who has sent them a WhatsApp message but doing so, a user can easily have a peek at the message body as well, which can reveal either partial or complete message without opening the app.
Use WhatsApp in Airplane Mode
Don’t open WhatsApp just after you have received a notification rather drag down the notification bar or open settings to enable the airplane mode first. This will turn off your WiFi or mobile data connection, and then you will be able to open WhatsApp offline. After reading the messages close the app and disable the airplane mode.
Disable Read Receipts
Disabling read receipts is one of the most authentic as well as straightforward ways which you opt for if you don’t want to let a sender know if you are actually reading the messages. However, you will also not be able to know if someone has read your messages. To disable read receipt on WhatsApp, go to the WhatsApp Settings and tap on Accounts. Now, tap on the Privacy option and untick Read receipts.
WhatsApp Pop-ups
WhatsApp Pop-ups was once a great feature that almost everyone used earlier, however, many have forgotten that the feature still exists which can be used see popup notification along with message notifications. In order to enable WhatsApp Pop-ups, open WhatsApp settings, and select Notifications before tapping on the Pop-up Notification option. Now tap on Message Notifications and choose one of three given options, namely, Only when screen “off”, Always show pop-up and Only when screen “on”.
Use WhatsApp Widget
Just like every major app, WhatsApp also offers the widget option which can be used on the home screen of Android smartphones in order to see notifications/message without even opening the app. Reading all the messages from widget placed on the home screen will prevent blue ticks to appear on senders’ chat.
You should note that ‘WhatsApp Blue Ticks’ are only visible if the receiver opens up the app to read a text or see the receive media content.
For the latest Tech news, camera reviews, laptop games news, and Gadget Reviews on TimesNow
If you use WhatsApp to text your friends, family members, and colleagues, you might already be aware of the blue tick that indicates if your message has been read or not. But, did you know you can turn the read receipts feature off to stop people from being informed if you’ve read their messages on WhatsApp too?
For people who’re new to the platform or who aren’t aware, WhatsApp has a total of three indicators to inform you regarding the status of text messages you send. A single tick indicates that your message has been sent to WhatsApp’s servers. A gray double-tick indicates that your message has been delivered to the receiver’s device. Last, but certainly not the least, the blue tick indicates that the receiver has read your message.
Much like with iMessage, you can disable or enable blue ticks / read receipts in WhatsApp, and that’s what we’ll be covering here. We’ll be focusing on WhatsApp for iPhone, but the trick should be the same on Android as well.
How to Turn Off Blue Ticks / Read Receipts in WhatsApp
Disabling or hiding Read Receipts in WhatsApp is actually a pretty simple and straightforward procedure, regardless of what device you use the service on. Just follow the steps below to get started.
- Open “WhatsApp” on your iPhone.
That’s all you need to do to disable the blue ticks and turn off read receipts for the texts you receive over WhatsApp.
There are two important things to keep in mind once you’ve disabled this feature. Firstly, you won’t be able to see read receipts for the texts you send to other people, just like they’re unable to see yours. Secondly, if you’re in a WhatsApp group, read receipts will be sent for all the messages, regardless of whether you have this feature disabled or not.
Read receipt isn’t the only feature that you can privatize in WhatsApp. Features like “Last Seen”, Status, About, and even your profile picture can be hidden from others too, if you prefer it. Additionally, you can even stop people from adding you to random WhatsApp groups that you have no interest in.
Although we were primarily focusing on the iPhone in this article, you can follow the above steps to turn off read receipts on your Android smartphone as well. You’ll just need to tap on the triple-dot icon at the top-right corner of your screen to access the settings.
And while this article is focused on WhatsApp, you can also disable read receipts for iMessage, or even enable or disable read receipts for specific contacts with iMessages too, a feature that is particularly handy for many users. Many other third party messaging apps also have features to toggle read receipts as well, so check their settings.
Did you disable and hide read receipts for your WhatsApp account? What are your overall thoughts on this neat privacy feature that works both ways? Share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
It’s undeniable that Whatsapp has caused many rows with spouses, family and friends with its double blue tick sign which indicates that you have read a sent message. Sometimes however, you are busy, avoiding a situation and just don’t want people to know that you have read their messages.
Luckily for you, Watsaap has a setting where you can hide the fact that you have read any messages, this is also know as disabling read receipts. Instead of appearing as two blue ticks (which mean read), the ticks will remain gray, as if unread. For more, here is our step-by-step on how to mark Whatsapp messages as unread.
Before explaining how to disable read receipts, it is important to understand the Watsaap tick system on:
- One grey tick next to your message means the message has sent successfully.
- Two grey ticks next to your message means the message has delivered.
- Two blue ticks next to your message means the message has been read.
By marking your messages as unread, the person sending the messages will no longer see blue ticks when you have read messages, but instead, the two grey ticks that mean delivered will remain.
This is a useful tool for times when you can’t answer a message even if you are avoiding someone but still want to know what the sent messages say.
In order to do this you need to download Watsaap’s latest version, 2.11.444, from the official Watsaap website.
Once you have downloaded this on your Android Phone, the steps to disable read receipts is simple:
- Open Watsaap and tap on the three verticle dots on the top right hand side.
- Go to Settings – Account – Privacy.
- Uncheck the box next to Read Receipts.
It is important to note that even though the person will not know if you have read their sent messages, they might know you have been online due to the ‘‘last seen,’’ status. To disable this too, you can take a look at our article on how to hide Watsaap last seen on iPhone.
Now you know how to mark Whatsapp messages as unread by disabling read receipts, you may also want to know some other of Whatsapp’s features:
If you want to read similar articles to How to mark Whatsapp Messages as Unread, we recommend you visit our Internet category.
WhatsApp features that were added a long time back are still not known by many users. Here's one of them
Facebook’s plans of unifying all its apps – the marquee Facebook app, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp – began materialising with the Stories feature that ended up landing on each of them. On WhatsApp, Facebook pitched the feature as an enhanced version of WhatsApp Status, which could only be textual earlier. It gave users new ways to share what’s happening in their life among other things that could be as random as a GIF of kittens playing in your house.
- Go to WhatsApp settings
- Now, navigate to the Account tab
- Tap Privacy and scroll to the Read Receipts option
- Toggle it off to stop people from seeing when you saw their chats, as well as WhatsApp Statuses
This option will also hide views on your Status posts so you will not able to see who all have viewed your WhatsApp Status.
Separately, WhatsApp is now adding a new functionality wherein a notification for an audio message from a contact can be played right there. There is no need to open the app to listen to the audio file, even the voice messages. The feature has been rolled out for WhatsApp beta for iOS version 2.19.91.1. The notification needs to be expanded for the audio file to become functional and it will not be counted as read unless the app is opened subsequently. While the feature is now being tested for iOS, it is likely to arrive on the Android platform under the beta versions first before a wider rollout.
Get live Stock Prices from BSE, NSE, US Market and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, Check out latest IPO News, Best Performing IPOs, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know market’s Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.
