How to Turn Off Read Receipts (Blue Ticks) in WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram and Telegram, and What You Give Up
Part of: Is it encrypted? The app-by-app guideChecked against each app's help pages and announcements, 6 November 2026. Menus move; check the date.
Read receipts are polite until they aren't: the boss who sees you read the message at 23:40, the relative who asks why you "ignored" them. Every big app lets you switch them off, with different catches.
Short answer: WhatsApp: Settings > Privacy > turn off Read receipts (not in groups, not for voice-message play receipts). Signal: Settings > Privacy > Read receipts off. Instagram: Settings > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts (or per chat). Telegram: you cannot hide the two ticks, but you can hide your read time via Last Seen & Online. In WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, hiding yours also hides other people's from you.
The setting in each app (checked 6 Nov 2026)
| App | Where | Still shows | Works both ways? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settings > Privacy > Read receipts | Blue ticks in groups; "played" on voice messages | Yes: off = you don't see others' ticks | |
| Signal | Settings > Privacy > Read receipts (typing indicators separate) | Delivered ticks | Yes |
| Settings > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts; or per chat | "Seen" elsewhere if you turn it off only for some chats | Per account / per chat | |
| Telegram | Settings > Privacy and Security > Last Seen & Online (read time follows it) | The two ticks themselves | Yes, unless you have Premium |
Sources: WhatsApp Help: how to check read receipts, Signal Support: read receipts, Android Authority on Instagram read receipts (Nov 2023), Telegram blog, read times (Jan 2024).
Settings > Privacy > Read receipts off (older phones: Settings > Account > Privacy). WhatsApp's help centre says this does not turn off read receipts in group chats or play receipts for voice messages, and that with it off you cannot see other people's read receipts either. It can also affect seeing who viewed your status.
Signal
Settings > Privacy > Read receipts. Just below it, Typing indicators is a separate switch. As in WhatsApp, if you turn read receipts off you won't see other people's.
Instagram started letting people turn off read receipts in DMs in November 2023. Today you can switch it off for all chats in Settings > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts, or turn it off for a single chat from that chat's settings (tap the name at the top). Availability can vary by account and region.
Telegram
Telegram has no switch for the ticks: one tick = sent, two ticks = read. Since January 2024 private chats also show the exact read time (for 7 days), and that follows your Last Seen & Online setting: hide your last seen from someone and they can't see your read time either. By default this is reciprocal; Telegram Premium lets you still see others' read times while hiding yours.
Should you turn them off?
- Turn off if receipts create pressure (work chats, big families) or you read at odd hours.
- Keep on in small, close chats where "seen" saves a follow-up message.
- Remember: read receipts say nothing about whether a message was private. Encryption is a separate question; see who can see my WhatsApp messages.
How Nadeemi does it
Nadeemi is the app we build, so weigh this section accordingly. In private chats Nadeemi shows ✓ sent and ✓✓ seen. Settings > Read receipts switches them off, and it works both ways: with yours off, neither side sees "seen". Group chats don't show read receipts at all. Message requests from people you don't know never send "seen" until you accept. Online status has its own privacy setting (default: people you both follow), and in group chats "typing…" follows it too. Private chats are encrypted on your device with MLS in the beta; we label them "end-to-end encryption coming" until an independent audit is published.
FAQ
How do I turn off blue ticks on WhatsApp? Settings > Privacy > turn off Read receipts. Blue ticks still show in group chats, and voice messages still show as played.
If I turn off read receipts, can I see other people's? Not in WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram (without Premium): turning yours off hides theirs from you too.
Can I turn off read receipts on Telegram? Not the ticks. You can hide your exact read time by limiting Last Seen & Online.
Can I turn off "Seen" on Instagram? Yes, in Settings > Messages and story replies > Show read receipts, or per chat in the chat's privacy settings.
Do read receipts work in group chats? In WhatsApp they always do, even with the setting off. In Nadeemi, group chats have no read receipts.
Sources (checked 6 November 2026)
- WhatsApp Help Centre, how to check read receipts: https://faq.whatsapp.com/665923838265756/?cms_platform=web
- WhatsApp Help Centre, change your privacy settings: https://faq.whatsapp.com/3307102709559968/?locale=en_US&cms_platform=web
- Signal Support, read receipts: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007320391-Read-Receipts
- Android Authority, Instagram lets you turn off DM read receipts (Nov 2023): https://www.androidauthority.com/instagram-dm-read-receipt-3383441/
- Telegram blog, Saved Messages 2.0 and read times (Jan 2024): https://telegram.org/blog/new-saved-messages-and-9-more
- Nadeemi, what we can and can't see: https://nadeemi.com/what-we-can-see/
Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners, used only for comparison. Nadeemi is not affiliated with any of them.
Drafted with AI help and checked by a person on the date above.