How LinkedIn Read Receipts Actually Work?
You’re leading a high-performing sales team sending 200+ LinkedIn messages every week to C-level prospects.
It’s Tuesday morning, and you’re reviewing last week’s performance metrics.
Some messages sparked conversations, others went silent.
But the real question is did your prospects even read those messages?
For senior sales leaders, this isn’t just a visibility issue it’s a strategy issue.
Understanding whether your outreach is being seen can drastically improve how you coach your team, optimize messaging, and allocate time and resources more effectively.
LinkedIn’s read receipts and typing indicators are subtle but powerful features that give you visibility into message engagement.
When used correctly, these insights can boost your team’s reply rate by up to 30%, sharpen follow-up timing, and offer a more precise understanding of what’s working (and what’s not) in your social selling playbook.
In this guide, we’ll break down how LinkedIn’s read receipt functionality works, why it sometimes goes missing, and most importantly how to turn passive message views into active conversations that drive pipeline and revenue.
How to know if someone read your message on LinkedIn?
Yes, but only under certain conditions.
LinkedIn does offer read receipts and typing indicators, but it’s not as straightforward as most messaging apps.
These features are part of LinkedIn’s messaging experience and are designed to give users subtle cues about engagement when someone is typing a reply or has seen your message.
So how does it work?
When both the sender and recipient have read receipts enabled, you’ll see a small timestamp under your message once it’s been opened.
Similarly, if the person is in the process of replying, a typing indicator three animated dots will appear, letting you know they’re actively engaging.
These features can help sales teams answer key questions like:
- Did the prospect read my message or ignore it?
- Is it too early to follow up?
- Should I pivot my outreach strategy for better timing or personalization?
What are LinkedIn read receipts?
Read receipts are small, visual indicators in your LinkedIn messages that let you know when a recipient has opened and read your message.
You’ll typically see a tiny version of the recipient’s profile picture appear just beneath your last message this is LinkedIn’s way of saying, “Yes, your message was seen.”
But, there’s a catch.
Read receipts only work when both parties have the feature enabled.
If even one person has turned them off, the trail goes cold.
Here’s how LinkedIn’s read receipt system works in real-time:
Case 1) Delivered but unread: You’ll see a single checkmark next to your message. It means the message made it to the recipient’s inbox, but hasn’t been opened.
Case 2) Message read: The recipient’s profile photo appears below your message. On desktop, you can hover over it to check the exact time it was read.
Case 3) Message Not delivered: If you see a hollow circle, your message hasn’t been delivered yet usually due to poor connectivity or a closed LinkedIn session.
What is the typing indicator on LinkedIn?
The typing indicator on LinkedIn shows when someone is actively replying to your message. It appears as a subtle “typing…” signal above the chat box.
For sales pros, this real-time cue helps gauge engagement. If a prospect reads your message and starts typing, it’s a strong sign of interest.
Paired with read receipts, the typing indicator gives sales teams valuable insights into message impact and helps fine-tune follow-up strategies.
Read receipts vs. InMail on LinkedIn
Regular LinkedIn messages (to 1st-degree connections) support read receipts and typing indicators if both users have them enabled.
InMail, on the other hand, does not support read receipts. You won’t know if your message was read unless the recipient replies.
So if visibility matters to your outreach strategy, prioritize building connections first.
That way, you can use read data to time your LinkedIn follow-ups smarter and boost reply rates.
How to turn LinkedIn read receipts on and off?
Read receipts and typing indicators are enabled by default, but LinkedIn gives you full control to turn them off if you prefer more privacy or don’t want others to see when you’ve read their messages.
You can manage them by following the steps below:
On desktop:
- Log in to LinkedIn and click on the “Me” icon (your profile picture) at the top-right corner.
- From the dropdown, select “Settings & Privacy.”
- In the left-hand side panel, click on “Data Privacy”
- Scroll down to the “Messaging experience” section.
- Click on “Read receipts and typing indicators.”
- You’ll see a toggle labeled “Allow LinkedIn to show when you’re typing and when you’ve read a message.”
– Turn the switch ON to enable both features.
– Turn it OFF to disable them.
On Mobile App (iOS & Android):
- Open the LinkedIn app on your mobile device.
- Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner to open the menu.
- Select “Settings” from the menu list.
- Tap “Data Privacy”
- Under Messaging experience, tap “Read receipts and typing indicators.”
- Use the toggle to turn the feature on or off, depending on your preference.
What to do when LinkedIn read receipts don’t show up?
LinkedIn read receipts are helpful, but they’re not foolproof.
Understanding their limitations helps sales teams build smarter engagement strategies.
When you message someone you’re not yet connected with, your message lands in their message requests folder.
Read receipts won’t activate until they accept your connection.
In that case, you can check the alternative ways to get in tuch with the prospect.
Alternative ways to track engagement
When read receipts fall short, these indicators can give you valuable insights:
- Profile views: A visit to your profile post-message is often a silent engagement cue.
- Active status: The green dot helps you time the follow-ups more strategically, especially if a message preview wasn’t enough to spark a response.
- Response timing trends: Notice if your leads reply during specific days or timeframes. This helps refine your follow-up cadences.
- Cross-channel tracking: If you’re managing a high-volume sales team, relying solely on LinkedIn for insights can be limiting.
Should you enable LinkedIn read receipts?
It depends on your outreach strategy and how you prefer to engage.
Here’s a quick breakdown of both sides:
Why keep LinkedIn read receipts on?
- Track outreach effectiveness: Instantly know if your message landed or was ignored, critical for refining what works.
- Smarter follow-ups: If they read it but didn’t respond, time your follow-up when it makes the most impact.
- Understand prospect behavior: Gain clarity on which prospects are engaging and which’s gone cold.
- Team coordination: Helps multiple reps avoid overlapping messages or follow-ups.
- Message optimization: Not getting reads? Fix your previews. Getting reads but no replies? Tweak your CTA or tone.
“Read receipts have eliminated the guesswork in our outreach. It’s now a data-driven process,”
— Sarah Johnson, VP of Sales Ops, TechGrowth Consulting
❌ Why might you turn them off?
- Less pressure: Avoid the unspoken obligation to reply instantly.
- More flexibility: Read on your own time without signaling availability.
- Strategic timing: Control when and how you respond without external expectations.
- Avoid awkwardness: No stress if you can’t respond right away to high-stakes messages.
Test both settings.
If you’re in high-volume prospecting or sales leadership, keeping LinkedIn read receipts on can help with key performance insights.
But for more casual or strategic networking, turning them off might offer better control.
4 Best practices for LinkedIn messaging
Here’s how to craft messages that actually get a response on LinkedIn
- Hook with intent: For message requests, your first line is your subject line. Be relevant and personalized.
Example: “Quick idea on scaling your outreach like [Company X]”
- Lead strong: The preview line decides if they open. Skip the fluff.
❌ “Hope you’re doing well”
✅ “Caught your post on [topic] had to reach out”
- Stay human: Avoid spammy buzzwords. Keep it conversational, not salesy.
- Format for skimming: Short paragraphs. Clean spacing. Easy to read = more likely to engage.
Automate your LinkedIn messaging with SmartReach.io
Manual LinkedIn outreach can be time-consuming and inconsistent, especially when you’re managing hundreds of prospects every week.
SmartReach.io’s LinkedIn automation feature helps you scale your social selling while maintaining personalization and control.
Here’s how SmartReach.io helps you do more in less time:
Create and automate sequences
Build custom outreach sequences that include personalized connection requests, follow-up messages, and even InMails.
Set the schedule, and SmartReach handles the rest, no more copy-pasting or manual tracking.
Auto-view profiles to increase visibility
Automatically view your prospects’ profiles to get noticed. This simple action often sparks curiosity and increases the chances of your message getting opened.
Personalized connection requests
Write templates that still feel human. Use custom placeholders like first name, company, or role to personalize every message while running outreach at scale.
Combine LinkedIn with Other Channels
SmartReach.io isn’t just for LinkedIn.
You can create multichannel campaigns by combining LinkedIn outreach with emails, WhatsApp, calls, and SMS—all in one platform. This boosts your chances of connecting with hard-to-reach prospects.
Switch between manual and auto tasks
Use SmartReach’s task manager to jump in manually where it matters, like replying to high-priority leads while automating everything else.
Analytics that actually help
Track who’s engaging, who’s ignoring, and where you’re converting.
Use insights from your LinkedIn campaigns to optimize message content, timing, and follow-up frequency.
With SmartReach.io, LinkedIn outreach becomes smarter, not just faster. You stay in control of your voice, scale your reach, and turn more cold connections into real conversations.
Try SmartReach.io free for 14 days
LinkedIn read receipts: FAQs
Can you tell if your LinkedIn message has been read?
Yes, but only if both you and the recipient have read receipts enabled. When active, you’ll see a small version of their profile picture below your message, indicating it’s been read.
Can you turn off read receipts on LinkedIn?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to turn off read receipts. Go to Settings & Privacy > Data Privacy > Messaging experience, then toggle off the Read receipts and typing indicators option.
Can you unseen a message on LinkedIn?
No, once a LinkedIn message is read, you cannot “unsee” or reverse the read status. LinkedIn does not offer an option to mark a message as unread for the sender.
Can you see who reads your posts on LinkedIn?
No, LinkedIn does not show who specifically read your posts. You can only see aggregated analytics like impressions, reactions, and demographics of viewers, not individual readers.
Does LinkedIn tell people when you view their profile?
Yes, by default, LinkedIn notifies users when someone views their profile. However, you can browse in private mode to prevent this.
How do I turn read receipts off?
To disable read receipts on LinkedIn:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click Data privacy
- Select Messaging experience
- Toggle off Read receipts and typing indicators
How do I hide being seen on LinkedIn?
To view profiles anonymously, enable private mode:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Profile viewing options
- Select Private mode to hide your name and headline when viewing others’ profiles.
