WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of its features is the double blue tick that appears next to a message you’ve sent, indicating the recipient has read it. However, some people prefer more privacy and don’t want senders to know when they’ve read a message. Luckily, it’s easy to hide the double tick read receipts in WhatsApp on Android. Here’s how to do it step-by-step.
Why Hide Read Receipts?
There are a few reasons why you might want to disable the double blue ticks in WhatsApp:
- Privacy: You may not want senders to know exactly when you read their messages. Hiding read receipts gives you more control over your privacy.
- Respond on your own time: Without read receipts, there’s less pressure to respond to messages immediately since the sender won’t know you’ve seen it. You can reply when you have time.
- Avoid awkward situations: Sometimes you may read a message but not be ready to respond yet. The sender won’t know you’ve seen it, avoiding potentially awkward follow-ups asking if you got their message.
Whatever your reason, disabling read receipts only takes a few taps in the WhatsApp settings. Here’s how to do it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps to turn off read receipts and hide the double blue ticks in WhatsApp on your Android phone:
- Open the WhatsApp app on your Android device.
- Tap the three dots menu icon in the top right corner of the screen.
- Select Settings from the dropdown menu that appears.
- Tap Account in the settings menu.
- Select Privacy from the account settings.
- Scroll down and find the Read receipts option. Tap the toggle switch next to it to turn read receipts off. The switch will turn from green to gray.
That’s it! You’ve now disabled read receipts for your WhatsApp account. Senders will no longer see the double blue ticks when you’ve read their messages. Instead, they’ll just see the double gray check marks indicating the message was delivered to your phone.
A few things to keep in mind:
- No more read info for you either: Hiding your read receipts is a two-way street. Just as others won’t be able to tell when you’ve read their messages, you also won’t know when your recipients have read your messages.
- Doesn’t affect group chats: Disabling read receipts only applies to individual chats, not group conversations. In a group, blue ticks will still appear when each participant has read a message.
- Voice messages unaffected: Hiding read receipts doesn’t apply to voice messages. When you listen to someone’s audio message, they’ll still be able to see that you played it.
Alternatives to Hiding Read Receipts
If selectively hiding your last seen status sounds like too much work, there are a couple other options to consider for more privacy:
- Airplane mode trick: If you want to read a message without triggering the read receipt, you can try using airplane mode. Turn on airplane mode, open the message in WhatsApp, then close the app and turn airplane mode off. The message will be marked as read on your end but not the sender’s. However, this only works if you don’t open WhatsApp again until you’re ready for the read receipt to be sent.
- Third-party apps: There are some third-party Android apps like Unseen that let you read WhatsApp messages without marking them as read. However, these require giving the app access to your notifications, which has its own privacy implications. Stick to the official WhatsApp settings when possible.
Conclusion
In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s nice to have some control over your privacy. Hiding read receipts in WhatsApp is an easy way to take back a bit of your digital life. With the double blue ticks disabled, you’re free to open and read messages on your own schedule without feeling pressured to respond right away.
While disabling read receipts does sacrifice some of the instant feedback we’re used to with messaging, it’s worth it for the privacy and peace of mind. Just remember that it’s a two-way street – you won’t be able to tell when others have read your messages either.
Luckily, hiding read receipts in WhatsApp on Android only takes a few seconds in the app’s privacy settings. Whether you want to keep your messaging habits to yourself or just buy some time before replying, it’s a handy trick to have in your digital toolbox. Give it a try and enjoy a more private messaging experience!
Leave a Reply