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After sending a text message from your iPhone, do you find yourself anxiously wondering whether the recipient has read it? Well, you are not alone. To give you an indication, many messaging apps provide a Read Receipts feature or something similar.
In this guide, I’ll explain how you can use this feature in Messages, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger to determine if someone has read a text sent from your iPhone. Take a look!
While it’s not possible to check the Read Receipts of standard SMS messages on iPhone, you can do so for iMessage after meeting these conditions:
In iMessage, a Read status indicator appears under the sent message, along with the time stamp at which the recipient reads the message. To check:
Please note that you can view the Read Receipt of only the last text you sent in an iMessage thread. Unlike WhatsApp, you can’t go back and check the Read Receipts of all your past messages individually. Also, Group messages don’t support this feature.
If you don’t particularly enjoy this feature or don’t want others to know when you read their message, Apple lets you turn off read receipts in iMessage to enhance privacy.
Instead of textual clues like Delivered and Read, WhatsApp makes use of the Tick symbol as a visual cue to help you determine if your message is delivered and read.
A single tick means your message has been successfully sent; double ticks mean the message is delivered; and blue double ticks signify that the recipient has read your message.
Here’s how you know if someone has read your text messages from your iPhone in WhatsApp:
However, one thing you should remember is that if the recipient has turned off read receipts on WhatsApp, you won’t be able to see the Blue Ticks or determine when the text was read.
While the chances of you having an important conversation on Facebook Messenger are slim, knowing how the read receipts work in Messenger is essential to know if someone has read your messages.
The read receipt function is a bit different in Facebook Messenger. Instead of text or ticks, you will see the recipient’s profile picture under the last message you sent, indicating that the recipient has read your message.
Being a part of the same parent company as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger also allows you to turn off read receipts to maintain your privacy. Here’s how:
With the read receipts turned off, there is no way you can tell if someone read your iMessage on your iPhone; you will only get a Delivered status.
You can’t see if someone read your message on iMessage because the sender, the recipient, or both have turned off Read receipts in the iMessage settings.
Unfortunately, you can not turn on read receipts for a specific person on your iPhone.
Happy Messaging!
That’s all you need to tell if someone has read your text message on your iPhone. Always remember that respecting personal boundaries and communication preferences is necessary for a positive messaging interaction.
You can comment below if you have any questions. I’ll happily respond.
Vikhyat has a bachelor's degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering and over five years of writing experience. His passion for technology and Apple products led him to the tech writing space, where he specializes in writing App features, How-to guides, and troubleshooting guides for fellow Apple users. When not typing away on his MacBook Pro, he loves exploring the real world.
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