WhatsApp is an instant messaging application that has gained a great deal of popularity around the globe in the past several years and is used on smartphones, iPads, and tablets. It enables people to instantly chat with others who are also connected to the internet through a Wi-Fi connection or Mobile data plan. By default, WhatsApp shares Read Receipts, letting your contact know that you’ve read their messages.

WhatsApp has now become an important part of many people’s daily lives through conversations, not only with personal contacts, but also with others for purposes of conducting business and doing other work. Sometimes, you do not want your contacts to know you’ve read their messages.

WhatsApp is Versatile

The app can be installed onto Android, tablet, iPhone or iPads. Once installed you can chat, voice call, send videos or video call a contact wherever they may be in the world, provided you both are connected to the internet and have the WhatsApp installed on your device. Normally, the app will tell the sending party that you’ve read their messages. But, under some circumstances you may not want your contact to know you’ve read their messages.

Don’t Let Them Know You’ve Read their Messages

With the default Read Receipts, your contacts can easily confirm that you have read their message. The additional information WhatsApp will let them know is the last time you were online.

If you do not want your contacts to know that you’ve read their messages, and want to respond to them in your own time without offending them, then you can turn these default behaviors off in WhatsApp. You may also want to do this if you are concerned about your privacy.

Steps to Cancel Read Receipts in WhatsApp

You can follow this process to prevent your contacts from knowing that you’ve read their messages on any smartphone – be it an Android, tablet or an iPhone, or an iPad. A cautionary note: keep in mind that when you turn off the Read Receipts and Last Seen functions, not only are you keeping your contacts from seeing when you were last online and read their messages, it will also keep you from receiving the information from them. The process is the same for all the devices.

• Open WhatsApp.
• Tap on Settings then Account and then Privacy.
• Tap the Read Receipts switch to off, and this stops people from knowing that you have read their message.
• WhatsApp will stop showing when you were last online if you also tap Last Seen and then select Nobody.

Now your contacts will not know that you’ve read their messages or when you were last online.

Conclusion

WhatsApp is a very easy to use instant messaging tool that is becoming increasingly popular everyday, but sometimes you just want your privacy and the freedom to reply to your contacts in your own time. The ability to turn off the notifications that you’ve read their messages can give you the time you need for other pressing matters.