How to Know if Someone Read a Message in WhatsApp

Sending a text message and not getting a reply right away, or even in an hour, can be annoying. If you’ve ever experienced this, you know it’s not a pleasant feeling when someone takes hours or even days to get back to you. But how do you know if they’ve even read your message?

Fortunately, WhatsApp is one of those apps with a great system that makes it easy to see if someone has received and read your messages. There are various ways you can establish if someone’s read your messages on WhatsApp. You can look at the checkmarks or the message info. What’s more, you can even check to find out if someone has listened to a voice message you sent them.

In this article, we’ll provide you with a detailed step-by-step guide on how to know if someone read your messages on WhatsApp, so make sure you keep reading.

How to Check if Someone has Read a Message in WhatsApp

As mentioned, there are a few ways to check on the message read status in WhatsApp. Here’s a rundown of how to do it.

Review Your Message’s Checkmarks

One of the awesome features of WhatsApp is its checkmark system. After each message you send, you’ll see check marks that have different meanings.

• If you see one grey checkmark next to your message, it means your message was sent, but it wasn’t delivered. This can happen if the recipient’s internet is turned off or there’s no signal.
• If you see two grey checkmarks next to your message, it means your message was successfully delivered to the recipient.
• If you see two blue checkmarks next to your message, it means the recipient has read it.
• Also, if you’re in a group chat, you’ll see two blue checkmarks only when all the members have read the message. Until then, they’ll remain in grey.

Check the Message Info

Another way to check if someone’s read your message is by looking at the message info. Here is how you can do this:

1. Select the message.
   
2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner.
   
3. Tap Info. There, you’ll see if and when the message was delivered and read.
   

Sending the Person, a Voice Note

One of the options available in WhatsApp is sending a voice message. There are two ways to check if the recipient has played your message.

Review the Checkmarks and the Microphone Icon

As with text messages, look at the checkmarks to establish if the person’s read your message. However, just because someone’s read it doesn’t mean they listened to it. That’s why you have the microphone icon on the left of your voice message.

• If the two checkmarks are blue and the microphone icon is grey, it means the recipient saw that you sent a voice message but hasn’t played it yet.
• If the two checkmarks and the microphone icon are blue, it means the recipient saw and played your message.

However, there’s a trick that can be used to play the voice messages without showing the blue microphone icon. Here’s how:

1. When a voice message is received, don’t play it.
   
2. Select the message and tap the right arrow icon at the top-right.
   
3. Choose a contact and forward the message to them.
   
4. Open the voice message from that chat.
   

By forwarding the voice message to someone else, the first recipient can play it without having the blue microphone icon showing up to the sender. However, note that the sender can still see their message was delivered.

Message Info

Looking at the message info is another way to establish if a person received, read, and played your message:

1. Select your voice message.
   
2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner.
   
3. Tap Info.
   
4. You’ll see if and when your message was delivered, seen, and played. If it hasn’t been played yet, you’ll see when it was read.
   

Troubleshooting Problems With Sending and Receiving Messages

If you’re unable to send and/or receive messages on WhatsApp, the most likely cause of this problem is a bad internet connection. However, there are some other possible reasons you can investigate if you’re sure your connection is good:

• You need to restart or reboot your phone.
• The number you tried to send the message to has blocked you.
• You didn’t save the contact correctly. Check the contact’s phone number.
• You didn’t complete the verification process correctly.

Completing the Verification Process

If you want to use WhatsApp, installing it on your phone isn’t enough. You have to verify your phone number before being able to send and receive messages. We’ve provided a step-by-step guide on how to complete the process.

1. Open WhatsApp.
   
2. Go through the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service and tap Agree And Continue.
   
3. Enter your country code and phone number and tap Next.
   
4. A message will show up asking you to review the phone number. If you’ve made a mistake, tap Edit to correct the number. If you’ve entered the right number, tap OK.
   
5. You’ll receive an SMS with a six-digit code that you need to enter. If you don’t want to do this, you can choose the Call me option to receive an automated phone call with the code.
   
6. If you want to restore an earlier backup, tap Continue. If not, tap Not now.
   

If you didn’t receive the code, you could try checking your internet connection, restarting your phone, or reinstalling the app.

Connection Problems

If you can’t send or receive messages on WhatsApp, you might have connection problems. There are several things you can check to ensure everything’s working properly on your end:

• Restart your phone.
• Update WhatsApp.
• Make sure the Airplane mode is turned off.
• Make sure your Wi-Fi/data is turned on.
• Try connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Reboot your Wi-Fi router.
• Update your system.
• Turn off the VPN service if you have one.
• If none of the above work, contact your mobile provider and check if your APN settings are correctly configured.

Additional FAQs

How do I Turn Off Read Receipts?

WhatsApp offers the option of turning off read receipts:

1. Open WhatsApp.

2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner.

3. Tap Settings.

4. Tap Account.

5. Tap Privacy.

6. Turn off the toggle button next to Read receipts.

Now, whenever someone sends you a message, they’ll only be able to see that the message was received. However, it’s important to note that it works both ways. When you send a message, and the recipient reads it, you won’t know. You’ll have two grey checkmarks next to your message that merely indicates the message was delivered, even though it might have also been read.

Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that the read receipts for group and voice messages can’t be disabled.

How do I Hide my Online Status?

If you don’t want some people to know when you’re online but you’re avoiding replying to a message, or you don’t want to be disturbed, you can hide your status. That way, nobody will know when you were active.

1. Open WhatsApp.

2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner.

3. Tap Settings.

4. Tap Account.

5. Tap Privacy.

6. Tap Last seen. Here you can choose who can see your online status: everyone, your contacts, or nobody. If you want to completely go incognito on WhatsApp, tap Nobody.

An important thing to keep in mind is that when you turn off your online status, you won’t be able to see anyone else’s either.

Additional privacy settings allow you to set the degree of exposure you’re comfortable with. For example, you can choose who can see your profile photo, status, information or add you to group chats.

How do I Use WhatsApp Live Location?

WhatsApp allows you to share your location in real-time with your contacts. If you’re meeting a friend or a family member or walking home at night, you can use this feature to keep an individual or a group updated. Here is how to enable it:

1. Open the chat where you want to share your location and tap the paperclip icon.

2. Tap Location.

3. Allow WhatsApp to access your location.

4. Tap Share live location. You can choose how long you want to share the location: 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours.

6. Tap the arrow at the bottom-right corner to send it.

7. If you want to stop sharing your location, tap Stop sharing, and Stop.

Since WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, you can be sure that nobody can see your location except the people you decide to share it with.

Can I See the Exact Time My Message Was Read?

You can see the exact time when your message was read by checking the message info.

1. Select the message.

2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner.

3. Tap Info.

4. You’ll see the exact time someone read your message. If it hasn’t been read yet, but it was delivered, you’ll see the delivery time and a line under Read. Once the recipient opens the message, this will change to the exact time when it was opened.

And That’s a Wrap on WhatsApp

Now you’ve learned how to know if someone read your messages on WhatsApp while also learning more about troubleshooting and different privacy options. If you want to check if someone saw your message, you can do it in various ways, thanks to WhatsApp’s checkmark system and message information.

Do you often check the status of your messages in WhatsApp? Tell us more in the comment section below.