How Do iMessage Read Receipts Work on Apple Devices?

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Many people get confused about how read receipts work in Messages, so let’s clear that up with some simple facts and solutions.

First, what exactly is a read receipt? It’s a small message that appears under your most recent message, showing the time when the person read it. This tells you that they’ve seen your message.

Not all chats support read receipts. If you’re using iMessage (which shows blue bubbles), then read receipts, delivery confirmations, and options to edit or unsend messages are available. However, if you’re messaging someone with a non-Apple phone or using standard SMS or MMS (green bubbles), you won’t see read receipts, even if you have them turned on.

A read receipt is sent when you open a message thread with someone who has enabled this feature. But, it’s important to note that read receipts are not sent in group chats, even if everyone uses iPhones. They only work in one-on-one chats.

When you open a message from someone who has read receipts turned on, the message under their bubble will change from “Delivered” to “Read” along with the timestamp. If you choose not to send a read receipt, that little message remains as “Delivered” and doesn’t change.

To control whether you send read receipts to everyone, go to Settings, then tap Messages. Find the “Send Read Receipts” toggle. Turning it on will send receipts to all contacts. Turning it off will stop this for everyone.

If you want to control read receipts for just one or a few people, open their conversation in the Messages app. Tap their name or picture at the top of the chat. You’ll see an option to toggle “Send Read Receipts” just for that person.

Now, what about seeing when someone reads your messages? Unfortunately, you can’t see that unless they send a read receipt back to you. You only have control over whether you send them your read receipts, not whether they do.

Another thing to remember is if you read someone’s message on a different device, like a tablet or computer, whether a read receipt is sent depends on that device’s individual settings.

If you open a message and then turn off read receipts for that person before they reply, the read receipt might already be sent when you opened the message. If you turn off read receipts afterward, no future receipts will be sent, but the one already sent will stay.

Sometimes, you might notice that your read receipts aren’t showing up. This can happen if your internet connection isn’t great. Don’t worry—if the message bubble is blue and it says “Delivered,” you’re not blocked. If you’re unsure about someone’s feelings or relationship, it’s best to talk to them directly.