Question from Tina L.: When I read a message in WhatsApp on my iPhone 6 it tells the person who sent it that I have read it.
I don’t like that because there are times when I’d rather the person not know that I have read their message. Can you tell me how to disable Read Receipts in WhatsApp? My phone has iOS 8 on it.
Rick’s answer: You’re not alone in your dislike for Read Reciepts Tina. Unfortunately, there is no way to disable them in the WhatsApp app without “jailbreaking” your iPhone, and that’s something that I don’t recommend for the reasons explained in this post. (Note: “Jailbreaking” is the iOS equivalent of “Rooting” in the Android world.)
There is a work-around that can prevent your phone from sending a Read Receipt back to the sender however. It’s a little clunky, but it works. Just follow these steps the next time you receive a message via WhatsApp:
1 – When a new message notification shows up, place your phone in Airplane Mode.
2 – Open the message in WhatsApp, read it, then shut down the app.
3 – Take your phone back out of Airplane Mode.
This works because WhatsApp can’t send a Read Receipt while the phone is in Airplane Mode because all of the phone’s radios are disabled.
That’s all there is to it Tina. Like I said, it’s a little clunky, but it’s the only way I know to disable WhatsApp Read Receipts without jailbreaking your iPhone.
Do you have a tech question of your own for Rick? Click here and send it in!