How to Secretly Open IMessages Without Triggering Read Receipts
We’ll be the first to say that worrying about someone finding out if you’ve read their text message is a little funny. Reading a message is the whole point of text messages, and yet … we can also admit that there are strategic reasons why you might want a message to appear unread.
Many messaging services, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and DM on Twitter, support read receipts that notify the sender when you’ve opened their message. IPhone users sending iMessages can also enable read receipts with a funny caveat: they’re very easy to bypass.
To learn more about iMessage, watch the video below:
On iOS, the read receipts option can be turned on or off in the Settings app, in the Messages section, or in individual conversations by tapping the person or group at the top, tapping Info, and turning Send Read Receipts on / off . “
If you usually keep reading receipts, you have nothing to worry about. However, if you usually have read receipts turned on but want to secretly read a message, Haptic Touch ( or 3D Touch if you have an old iPhone ) is your friend.
In the Messages app, find the person whose messages you want to read. On this screen, just tap and hold their message. This will bring up a ” context menu ” offering a preview of the conversation thread; you will be able to see the entire content of the new message and even several previous messages – everything that fits on the screen at the same time. You can also choose from several menu options: you can pin or unpin a conversation, turn off alerts, or delete it.
Be careful not to touch any part of the screen, as this will open the message completely and send a horrible read receipt. The sender will know that you saw his message and simply decided not to reply. This kind of preview feature only works on iPhone 6S or newer, so if you’re still using an iPhone 6 years ago, you’re out of luck (it’s also probably time to get a new phone).
Please note that you cannot activate this feature from the notification text banner on the home screen. When you swipe down and click on the message that just appeared, this “preview” triggers the delivery of a read receipt.
This article was originally published on July 20, 2018 and was updated in July 2020. Changes include adding information to describe the iPhone’s tactile touch implementation, expanding and clarifying the required steps, and adding a new header image and screenshot.