Step-by-Step to Disable Read Receipts Android

Imagine you are lying on the bed, checking your messages, and accidentally opening the message of the person that you are not supposed to respond to at the moment. A bit of panicking in this situation is natural. 

Thanks to the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol, which introduced an amazing feature for Android users: turn off the read receipt? Yes, you read it right. The RCS has a new option that allows you to disable your read receipt. So, the question that is floating in your mind is how to turn off the read receipts on Android?

Keep calm, in this article; we’ll answer your question with a detailed step-by-step guide to turn off the read receipt. Let’s get started.

Key Highlights:

• In today’s super-connected digital world, people often want to prevent others from knowing their activity. For this, they keep their message read receipt off on their Android phones.
• Disabling the read receipt on the Android phones is quite simple. You just have to follow the four easy steps.
• Start with opening the message app, then click on the settings option, opens the RCS button, and by opening this settings bar, you would easily find the option to turn on/off read receipts.
• Most people prefer to turn off this feature for various reasons, including avoiding social pressure, having privacy concerns, maintaining a work-life balance, and reducing anxiety.

How to Turn off Read Receipts on Android?

It is natural to feel pressure to respond to a message when you see the receipt of your message in your Android. But not all the time, it is essential to get back with the answer. Sometimes, you need time to respond to a message, and that is where disabling the read receipt of the text messages comes as a lifesaver.

Do you know this feature is best for students, as it helps them to pay more attention to their pending assignment? When students turn off their read receipts and message notifications, they naturally aren’t distracted by the continuous ringing message tone.

If they still find it hard to focus on their assignment writing, they can avail assignment writing services from experts of an authentic writing company, such as The Academic Papers UK.

Continue reading to explore how to turn off the read receipt on Android. 

1: Open the Android Messages App

The first thing that you must do is to open the Messages app on your Android phone. After opening this app, the following screen will pop up on your mobile. You have to click on the circle that appears at the top right corner of the screen. 

2. Open the Messages Settings

After clicking on that circle, the following window opens on your Android mobile. At this step, you have to just click on the message settings in the drop-down menu. 

3. Click on the RCS Chats

After clicking on the messages setting, the window below the shown window pops up. At this window, you will see various setting options. You have to click on the RCS chats to turn off the read receipt of messages on your Android phone.

4. Disable the Read Receipt

After opening the RCS chats, you will see the turn on/off read receipt option. You just have to turn off the read receipt from here. That’s all, you are good to go. Now, the senders cannot see whether you have seen their messages or not.  

How to Turn Off Read Receipts on WhatsApp?

WhatsApp read receipts are also known as WhatsApp check marks, are the small blue ticks that appear next to the messages that are being sent. These blue ticks indicate the status of the message. It is like the visual clues that tell the senders the actual status of their messages.

Below is a small description of how these ticks work:

Single Grey Tick: It indicates that your message has been sent to the other person, but the receiver hasn’t received it yet.

Double Blue Ticks: These ticks on WhatsApp show that the message has been delivered to the other person, but he hasn’t seen your message yet.

Double Blue Ticks: The blue ticks, along with the message, mean that your message has been sent, delivered, and seen by the receiver. 

Do you want to turn off the read receipt of your WhatsApp? Have a look at the steps below to learn how to turn off the read receipt. 

1. The first thing that you must do is to open the WhatsApp application. Click on the three dots that appear at the upper corner of the right side. After clicking on these three dots, the following drop-down menu will pop up on the screen. From this menu, you have to go to the settings option.

2. After clicking on the settings option, the following window opens on your WhatsApp. From this window, you have to click on the privacy option to turn off the read receipt of your WhatsApp. 

3. After opening the privacy settings, you will find various options such as who can see your last seen, profile picture, about and status. Below these options, you will see the turn on/off read receipt option. 

4. You can turn off or turn on the read receipts of your messages. By turning off this option, you will not be able to send or receive read receipts for your messages. But one thing that you must remember is that this option is not applicable for group messages.

Why Do People Turn Off Receipts on Android?

In today’s super-connected world, everyone assumes that the other person sees the messages within minutes. But without the read receipt, it becomes quite plausible that the other person might not check their phone yet. 

Therefore, most people prefer to turn off their read receipts. A survey was conducted during research by the Journal of Media, Cognition, and Communication. During this survey, more than half of the respondents said that they feel ignored or get anxious about not getting a reply. Android and WhatsApp to avoid any kind of inconvenience. Below are some reasons why some people turn off their notifications on their mobile phones.

1: Privacy Concerns

Many people have privacy concerns, and they want to keep their activity private as much as possible. By turning off the read receipt on their Android and WhatsApp, they can avoid disclosing their activities and keep themselves private by not letting other people know that they have read messages.

Further, with this setting, they will feel more secure and less pressured to reply immediately. Thus, you can say that with this feature, people who have privacy concerns can get the benefits of autonomy in digital communication. 

2: Avoid Social Pressure

Another reason why people prefer to turn off the read receipt on Android is to avoid social pressure that they feel to respond to a message immediately. By disabling this option, people get more time to formulate their responses and write the best possible answer for the messages. 

However, for many people, this option creates a problem as they need an instant reply within a reasonable time. Late replies can create a sense of anxiety for those people. In simple words, it is the personal choice of every individual whether to turn on or turn off this feature.

3: Create a Work-Life Balance

In many organisations, employees are advised to use their personal messages or even their WhatsApp accounts for work-related communication. This instruction sometimes creates a problem for the employee to maintain a work-life balance. 

In those circumstances, turning off the read receipt option can help them to manage their work-life balance by giving them relaxation of reading messages without the obligation of replying to them outside working hours. 

Further, this feature allows them to draw boundaries between work and personal life and prevent their professional duties from interrupting their personal life. Students can also create an ideal work-life balance and pay attention to their academic tasks, such as writing the introductory paragraph of an essay, more effectively.

4: Reduce Anxiety

As we have mentioned earlier that it is the personal choice of every individual to turn on or turn off the read receipt on Android. For most people, turning off the read receipt can create its own form of anxiety. 

This happens in those cases when they feel pressured to respond to the messages immediately. By disabling the read receipt, they can alleviate this pressure that is associated with responding immediately. Also, by responding to the messages at their own pace, they better manage their mental health. 

The individuals who can enjoy the greatest benefit of this setting are the students who are suffering from the anxiety of replying to the messages while completing their assignments.

By turning off their read receipt, they can put the messages on hold and focus on their assignments. For additional support, they can approach legit assignment writing agencies in the UK and ensure that their assignments are completed on time. 

Can I Read a Text Without the Sender Knowing?

Yes, you can read a message without letting the sender know. Are you wondering how this is possible? The answer is with the read receipt option.

Turning on/off read receipt is a great feature in digital communication. With this feature, you can prevent people from knowing whether you have seen their messages or not. 

This feature is present in both Android and iPhone mobiles. Even WhatsApp has introduced this feature in its privacy settings.

You just have to click some buttons, and here you go. And do you know what the most amazing feature is? You can even set the turning off read receipt for specific people by using the advanced setting options of the digital app. 

What is the Difference Between SMS and RCS?

When most people hear something about text messages, the first thing that comes to their mind is Short Message Service (SMS). It is the traditional message service that has been around for all types of cellular phones.

However, over the recent years, another advanced message platform has emerged, known as Rich Communication Service (RCS).

SMS is the simplest form of message that is sent through a cellular network. There is no need for WiFi to send or receive messages with this in-built communication system.

On the contrary, the RCS is an advanced messaging protocol that is considered a better option as compared to SMS.

Have a look at the common differences between these two message protocols:

SMS	RCS
Send messages over the cellular network	Need internet connectivity to send messages
Limited multimedia capabilities	Support a wide range of multimedia options such as GIF, audio, video, etc.
No message delivery confirmation option	Precisely inform senders about the message status
Integration with other applications is limited	Largely feasible for a wide range of services

Final Thoughts

Read receipt is the most unique and beneficial feature that has been introduced in digital communication over the recent years. Most people prefer to keep their read receipts disabled because of social pressure, privacy concerns, maintaining a work-life balance, and reducing anxiety. 

However, many people are unaware of how they turn off the read receipt on Android. For them, we have mentioned a step-by-step guide with pictures to disable this privacy setting. You just have to follow these steps. With these, many people want to turn off this option on the WhatsApp platform. We also mentioned detailed steps for them. We hope that our guide will help you to benefit from this amazing feature.