To control whether other people see Read under the iMessages they send you, open Settings > Apps > Messages and turn Send Read Receipts on or off. You can also set it separately for a conversation by opening that conversation in Messages, tapping the contact at the top, and changing Send Read Receipts there. The per-person choice can override the general one, so check both places if the result surprises you.
These directions follow Apple's current iPhone Messages guide. On an older iOS version, Messages may be directly in Settings rather than under Apps. Read receipts are about what *you send* to someone who messages you. Your switch cannot make another person send receipts to you.
Turn read receipts off for your conversations
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone. This is the main place for the general Messages setting.
- Tap Apps, then tap Messages. If you do not see Apps, look for Messages in the main Settings list or use the Settings search field.
- Find Send Read Receipts and turn it off. The switch should no longer show its enabled state.
- Return to Messages. For conversations governed by this general choice, the other person should see Delivered after delivery rather than Read when you open a message.
Turning this off does not delete a message, turn off notifications, or prevent the other person from seeing that their message was delivered. It affects the read indicator for subsequent views in conversations governed by that setting. It also does not retract a receipt that was already sent before you changed the switch.
Turn read receipts on for everyone
Go back to Settings > Apps > Messages and turn Send Read Receipts on. This tells supported conversations that you have opened a message. The sender will see Read below their sent iMessage once a receipt is sent. If a conversation has its own read-receipt choice, review that conversation separately; the general switch may not change its existing exception.
This setting is voluntary. Some people prefer receipts because they confirm a message was seen; others prefer not to create an expectation of an immediate reply. You can change the switch again at any time. It does not affect whether your own outgoing message says Read, because that depends on the recipient's settings.
Change the setting for one person
- Open Messages and choose the conversation with that person. Confirm you have the correct conversation before changing its settings.
- Tap the person's name or icon at the top. The conversation details panel opens.
- Find Send Read Receipts and turn it on or off. The change applies to what that person sees when you read their messages.
- Return to the conversation. If you are testing the result, have the person send a new message after the change rather than relying on an old message that was already marked Read.
An individual setting is useful when you want receipts for family or a work contact without making them the default for every conversation. It can also explain why someone still sees your reads after you turned off the main setting. Apple specifically notes that a contact you configured separately must be changed separately.
Understand what the labels mean
Delivered means the message reached the recipient's device or account; it does not mean the recipient opened it. Read indicates that the recipient opened the message while sending read receipts for that conversation. A missing Read label is therefore not proof that the person ignored the message. Their setting may be off, or the message may not have been opened.
Read receipts are most commonly discussed for iMessage conversations. Do not assume that every green-bubble SMS/MMS or every messaging service uses exactly the same receipt behavior. The setting described here is in Apple's Messages app; WhatsApp, Signal, and other apps have their own controls. If you are unsure which service a conversation uses, check its message bubbles and details before promising a particular outcome.
For a closer look at delivery confirmations, read our guide to what Delivered means on iPhone. It distinguishes iMessage, RCS, and SMS/MMS and explains what a receipt can tell you.
If turning the switch off seems not to work
First, open the affected conversation, tap the contact at the top, and check its Send Read Receipts switch. A person-specific choice is the most important exception to review. Next, make sure you changed the setting on the iPhone and app you actually use for that conversation. If you use Messages on other Apple devices, check their current settings and give the change a moment to sync. Finally, test with a *new* incoming message; an older Read label will not be erased.
If you cannot find Messages in Settings, search Settings for that name. If the contact detail panel looks different, confirm that you are in Apple's Messages app and that the conversation is with the intended person. Managed devices or outdated software can also show a different menu layout. Avoid toggling unrelated settings such as iMessage itself merely to change read receipts; that can affect message delivery.
Common questions
Can I turn on someone else's read receipts? No. The recipient controls whether they send a receipt to you. You can ask them to enable the feature, but there is no switch on your iPhone that forces their read status to appear.
Will turning receipts off stop “Delivered”? No. Delivered and Read convey different events. Turning off your receipts is intended to withhold the Read signal after you open a message.
Does the setting hide when I am typing? No. A typing indicator is a different Messages behavior. This article only covers the read status attached to a message.
Can I leave the general setting off but enable one contact? Yes. Open that conversation's details and turn on Send Read Receipts there. Check the individual conversation when you want to reverse that exception.
Apple's current read-receipts guide documents both the general switch and the per-person choice. If a conversation is not using iMessage at all, see our guide to turning on iMessage on iPhone.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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