WhatsApp read receipts: blue ticks and how to turn them off

WhatsApp's ticks report on every message you send: one grey tick means sent, two grey ticks mean delivered to the recipient's phone or a linked device, and two blue ticks mean read. Voice messages also show when they have been played. You can turn read receipts off in Settings > Privacy, but groups and voice messages keep reporting.

Below: every mark WhatsApp shows and what it means, how to see exact delivered and read times, why a message stays grey, what switching receipts off changes and what it doesn't, and what read counts are worth to a business. Menus are as of October 2026.

What do the ticks on WhatsApp mean?

Two things that look related aren't. The blue check badge beside some business names marks a business subscribed to Meta Verified, and says nothing about whether anyone read your message. And the colours are fixed: WhatsApp doesn't let you change the colour of the ticks or the clock.

How do I see exactly when a message was read?

1. 1Open the chat and find a message you sent.
2. 2Android: tap and hold it, then tap Info, the i in a circle. If it isn't there, look under More options (the three dots) > Info.
3. 3iPhone: tap and hold it, then tap Info.
4. 4WhatsApp Web: hover over it, click Menu (the down arrow), then Message info.

Message info shows up to three times. Delivered is when the message reached their phone or a linked device. Read, or Seen for a photo, video or audio file, is when they opened it; on a voice message, Seen means they have seen it but not yet played it. Played is when they listened.

In a group, Message info lists members under Read by and Delivered to, and keeps the original list even after someone leaves; who read your message in a WhatsApp group walks through it. Editing a message resets its read receipts, so the list starts again for the new version.

Why is my message stuck on one tick or grey ticks?

One grey tick means WhatsApp has sent the message but couldn't deliver it yet. Usually the recipient's phone is off or offline and none of their linked devices has received it, and the second tick appears once it arrives. A single tick that never changes, together with no last seen and no profile photo updates, can mean you have been blocked, though WhatsApp notes each of those signs can have other causes.

Two grey ticks that never turn blue mean the message arrived but no read receipt came back. WhatsApp's help centre gives these reasons:

• They haven't opened the conversation yet.
• Either of you has read receipts switched off.
• It is the first message they have received from you, when a read receipt might not be sent. This often catches people messaging a new number, for example without saving it as a contact.
• One of you has a connection problem.
• The date or time is set wrongly on either phone.

A clock instead of ticks means the message hasn't left your phone at all, so check your own connection first.

How do I turn off read receipts on WhatsApp?

Read receipts are on by default for every account. To switch them off:

1. 1Android: tap More options (the three dots) > Settings > Privacy.
2. 2iPhone: tap Settings or your profile picture, then Privacy.
3. 3WhatsApp Web: open Settings > Privacy.
4. 4Turn off Read receipts. Turn it back on the same way whenever you like.

What happens when read receipts are off?

The switch is a trade, not a cloak. In one-to-one chats, people stop seeing blue ticks from you, and you stop seeing theirs. A lot keeps reporting regardless:

• Groups. WhatsApp always sends read receipts in group chats, so you still appear in Message info there and still count toward the two blue ticks.
• Voice messages. Play receipts are still sent, and there is no way to turn them off.
• Status. You can't see who viewed your status, and people may not see that you viewed theirs; WhatsApp shows an eye with a line through it instead of the viewer list.
• View once. The Opened receipt appears only when the recipient has read receipts on.
• Delivery. The setting covers reading, so a delivered message still shows two grey ticks.

Marking a chat as unread doesn't undo anything either. WhatsApp says it only changes your own chat list, and the sender still sees the message as read.

Can you read a WhatsApp message without the sender knowing?

In a one-to-one chat, turning read receipts off is the only switch WhatsApp offers, and it costs you their receipts and your status viewer list in return. Because WhatsApp ties read receipts to opening the conversation, a message glanced at only in a notification generally leaves the ticks grey. In a group there is no way round it: read receipts are always sent there.

If the ticks are causing friction, a clear question gets further than a blue tick. In a family or society group, a poll collects actual answers instead of reads; WhatsApp group polls covers how they work.

What read receipts tell a business

For anyone sending fee reminders, delivery updates or offers, blue ticks show that a message was opened, not that it was understood or acted on. And three things undercount reads: people with receipts switched off in one-to-one chats, people who read the notification and never open the chat, and first messages that don't send a receipt back. A read rate is therefore a floor, and WhatsApp campaign metrics that hold up explains how to report it without overclaiming.

WavesFlo builds its campaign results from these same receipts, sent, delivered, read and failed, and labels its read rate as a floor for exactly these reasons.