How to Know if a Message Was Read on WhatsApp

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 9, 2023 Fact Checked

WhatsApp's simple checkmark system makes it easy to tell when a message has been sent, received, and read. To view a WhatsApp message's read status, you'll need to open a conversation from the Chats tab.

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This is in the toolbar on the top of your screen.

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^{[1]
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4
Review your last message's checkmarks. These will be in the bottom right corner of your message bubble. Checkmarks change according to your message's status: ^{[2]
X
Research source}
- One grey checkmark - Your message was successfully sent.
- Two grey checkmarks - Your message was received by your recipient's phone.
- Two blue checkmarks - Your recipient read your message on WhatsApp.
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Now you know that your message was read! ^{[3]
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Research source}

Community Q&A

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Question

Can I find out what time the recipient read my message?

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Highlight the message by long-clicking on it, then press the circled i on the top of the screen. This will tell you both the time the message was read and the time the message was delivered.

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Question

How would I know if the person receiving the message has been online?

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You can click on the name for the last-seen time on top, which is the time the user was last online on WhatsApp. However, some people choose to hide this information, in which case it would be blank under the name. If this happens, there is no way to tell.

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Question

Someone has read my message, but the two check marks still remain gray even after the person replied. What does that mean?

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This means the person has turned off read receipts in settings.

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Group message checkmarks only turn blue after each participant in the group has seen the message. ^{[4]
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Warnings

If a WhatsApp user has push notifications enabled, they won't need to open WhatsApp to see your message; ^{[5]
X
Research source} this means that you won't see the two blue checkmarks until they log into WhatsApp again. ^{[6]
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Research source}

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How to Know if a Message Was Read on WhatsApp

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