In short: One grey tick means sent, two grey ticks mean delivered, and two blue ticks mean read. To turn read receipts off, go to Settings, then Privacy, and switch off Read receipts. You then can’t see other people’s read receipts either, and group chats always send them. Facts as of November 2026.
What the ticks mean
| What you see | Meaning |
|---|---|
| One grey tick | The message left your phone but hasn’t reached the other person’s device |
| Two grey ticks | The message reached their phone |
| Two blue ticks | They have read it |
These come from WhatsApp’s help page on sending and receiving messages. Two grey ticks that stay grey don’t prove someone is ignoring you. They may have read receipts off.
How to turn off read receipts
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Privacy.
- Turn off Read receipts.
By default, any user can see your read receipts.
What changes when you turn them off
- You can’t see read receipts from other people.
- You can’t see who viewed your status.
- Group chats still send read receipts.
Read receipts in WhatsApp groups
Read receipts are always sent in group chats, and the privacy setting doesn’t change that. So there’s no setting that hides your read status in a group.
To see who read your message in a group:
- Press and hold your own message.
- Open the message menu and tap Info.
The screen lists who the message was delivered to and who read it. If you’ve turned off receipts, remember that the group rule above still applies to you.
Why someone’s ticks may stay grey
- They have read receipts turned off.
- They are offline, or their phone has no connection.
What this means for a business
Customers can see your blue ticks too, so a blue tick with no reply reads as being ignored. For a support or sales number, the useful question is not “was it read?” but “who owns this, and how long has it been waiting?”
A single phone can’t answer that. In a team inbox, each chat has an owner, and managers can track first response and resolution times and unanswered chats. Our guide to setting up WhatsApp for a support team covers the steps.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn off blue ticks for only one person? The setting is under Privacy and applies to your account. WhatsApp’s help pages don’t describe a per-person option.
Can I hide that I read a group message? No. Read receipts are always sent for group chats.
Why can’t I see who viewed my status? You have read receipts turned off. Turn them on again in Settings, then Privacy.
Want to see response times across your whole WhatsApp team? See how Risponse works.