How to turn off read receipts for all contacts

Good Afternoon Not_Much,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

It sounds like you are having issues with Read Receipts in the Messages app, and we'd like to help.

You've already done some great troubleshooting, and turning off the switch in Settings > Messages > Send Read Receipts should affect all messages.

However, you do have the ability to change that setting for certain individuals. So, we'd like to ask you to check this setting for the individual(s) who state they can see the Read Receipt. To do this:

Open the Messages app

1. Tap on the conversation with this individual
2. Tap their icon at the top of the display. This will open their contact card.
3. Make Send Read Receipts is toggled off (the switch is white) for this individual as well.
4. Tap Done.

If you're seeing that the feature is disabled for these contacts as well, Contact Apple Support so they can look into this with you further.

Take care.

After a fairly long call with Apple Support I think I have this issue fixed, at least for now. I had to go into each text strand, tap the contact and check if Read Receipt was turned on there. I did find two people who had that turned on even though I had it off under Settings. Once they were turned off for those two it stopped. The fact that two other contacts (my daughters) we not on but they were still getting them is not real comforting.

I was having all the same issues and was able to figure it out. First, (and I’m not sure if this actually mattered) I restarted my phone. Then I turned the global read receipts in settings on, waiting a few seconds, then turned it off again. Then I started going to individual messages in iMessage and opening the contact card at the top of the message. The read receipts that were turned off were now showing as enabled. Turns out I just had two individuals (in the last few dozen people I texted) who were getting read receipts so I just manually turned those off. I checked with a few more contacts who were getting iMessages from me where read receipts were still off and they confirmed they weren’t seeing my read receipts.

The read receipts are on individual contacts - since the latest upgrade read receipts are the individual so go to contacts in messages - press i and check if receipts are on or off .

You have to do it for each individual , click on the contact name in messenger and choose send read receipts slide left, very deceiving that you must do each individual. It use to be if you turned off in general and then messenger,

This has been happening to me too and it's so flipping ANNOYING!!!!

Here's what I have done, and the problem still persists, but has lessened:

• Turned off read receipts on iPhone

• Turned off individual read receipts under each text thread on iPhone

Now here is a key thing, and I'm not sure anyone has mentioned it (I didn't read the entire thread, so I don't know):

CHECK YOUR MAC'S IMESSAGES

Here's the super annoying part:

• You have to ALSO turn off read receipts under your Mac's iMessage preferences

• Even if you have done all of the above, it will STILL turn on read receipts for individuals - I went through and turned them all off, and I'll sporadically check them, and they'll be TURNED BACK ON for certain individuals, and there appears to be no rhyme or reason to it

This is the ONLY solution I have found - turning it off anywhere I have found for it to be on, but it loves to persist for individual read receipts via my Mac. But at least it isn't doing it as often, although I would prefer for it to not be done at all.

Like seriously Apple, WTF, get your sh** together. I hate Androids and would prefer not to switch over.

Or get rid of read receipts all together.

It turns out it was just at the contact-level. If you click into the text conversation, scroll down and the read receipt keeps turning on for ONE contact that I'm aware of...it's a friend who knows I don't have this feature on so keeps telling me when it flips even after I've turned off for her. Not sure how many other contacts are affected. This is a trust issue with Apple. It needs to be addressed. I have to trust when I turn something off at the system-level, it's going to do as it's promised. What's the timeline to get this resolved?

I have a short term solution for this ridiculous annoying problem. I feel the EXACT SAME as everyone here. Invasion of privacy and it does cause issues with insecure people who think you have to text back immediately. I have read receipts off for a flipping reason. Anyways, short term solution until apple fixes it would be to turn off iMessage. Then everything sends as text and no read receipts. You don’t even know if it’s been delivered. Privacy restored. For now. Not really hahaha. Y’all catch my drift. Lol

Thanks!

I read things about going to contacts and turning it off there, I didn't realize you had to open message and go to the top and fix it there!

Still can't figure out how it got switched on...

We’ve noticed this happens for my husband too, but it’s when he reads a message on his Apple Watch, it will send a ‘read’ receipt. But then the normal setting will apply for his phone (which won’t show the read receipt) if he reads the message on his phone. Not sure if anyone else having this problem also has an Apple Watch that might be contributing to the problem

In reading all the responses it looks like this started in February of 2023 and people slowly began to realize what was going on because as many stated, there is no way to tell this is happening until someone tells you that it is. Now, it is July 2023 and nothing has changed or been fixed. Like everyone else I have done all the steps and I am not about to spend hours on the phone with Apple when clearly it will not help the situation. It has to be done at the top and be installed as an update. Unfortunately, it probably started with an update too. APPLE - PLEASE FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!

You can turn it on and off for individuals in your iMessage app by opening a chat and selecting their icon at the top

Everyone, you need to call and report the issue. No one from Apple is reading these comments. I called on Monday and no one seemed to know this was an issue at all.

If everyone calls in, they can start to understand that it’s a bug they have to fix.

Thank you. They are randomly turned on at the contact level (which I’ve never set up before) . Read receipts are off in settings - it seems iso updates cause them to be randomly turned on for some contacts. Very odd and frustrating.

You just need to reset your iphone