What Are Telegram Read Receipts and Can You Turn Them Off

Messaging apps are a godsend for those who would think twice (or maybe four times) before picking up the phone and making that call. However, it becomes a guessing game when figuring out if the other person has read your message. This is where Telegram read receipts come into play.

The clock icon in Telegram lets you know your message has been sent but not yet delivered. But then what is this one or two check marks? And is it the same as the eye icon? Keep reading as we discuss more about what Telegram check marks mean and how they’re connected to Telegram read receipts.

What Does Telegram Check Mark or Read Receipt Mean

As the name signifies, read receipts on Telegram lets you know if the other user has read your message. This is where the check marks and eye icon come in. You can use this feature in individual chats, Telegram groups, and channels to know who or how many users have read your message.

For more details, here’s a step-by-step look.

One Check Mark

Step 1: Open the Telegram app on your mobile device.

Step 2: Here, tap on the relevant user or group.

Step 3: Check for a single check mark in front of your message.

If you see it, this means your message is sent to the other user or group but is yet to be seen. Once the other user opens the chat window, two check marks will be visible, letting you know the other user has seen it. Here’s how.

Two Check Mark

Step 1: Open Telegram and tap on the relevant user or group.

Step 2: Here, check the message for two check marks.

Tip: When using Telegram groups, tap on the message with two check marks to see who has read it in the group.

Eye Icon

Note: This is only visible when using Telegram channels.

Step 1: Open the Telegram app and tap on the relevant channel.

Step 2: Here, go to the selected message and check the eye icon.

The number in front of the eye icon signifies the number of people who have seen the message in the channel. While you can’t see who has seen the message, you can compare this number with the total number of channel participants to see how many people have seen your message.

Also Read: Telegram Channel vs. Group: Which should you use

Can You Turn off Read Receipts on Telegram

Unfortunately, there is no option available to turn off read receipts on Telegram as of now. This means it will display two check marks as long as you open the chat window. In Telegram channels, the number of views for the read messages will increase accordingly.

How to Read a Message on Telegram Without Sending Read Receipts

While Telegram will immediately add the second check mark or increase the view count to messages that have been seen under normal circumstances, there are some workarounds to prevent this. This can help you read a message without notifying the other user, though it might be temporary for some of the methods.

1. Using Telegram in Airplane Mode

Airplane Mode helps turn off all communications for your device. This means unless you manually enable it, Wi-Fi will automatically turn off once you turn on Airplane Mode, preventing Telegram from notifying the other user.

You can now check out the message without informing the other users. However, this is a temporary solution, as Telegram will display the second check mark once you disable Airplane Mode on your device.

2. Checking Messages From the Notification Panel

If your device notifications are on, incoming new messages will be visible in the notification panel. This will allow you to see any recent messages on Telegram without letting the other user know. Here’s how.

Step 1: Depending on your device, pull down from the top-left corner or the top of the screen to open the notification panel.

Step 2: Here, see the recent messages from Telegram.

This might, however, only show a limited number of recent messages received on Telegram. Additionally, once you dismiss the notifications, they may not appear in your device’s notification tray.

3. Using ‘Snoop and Look’ Feature

The Snoop and Look feature ensures you can see messages in a chat without actually opening it. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open Telegram and go to the relevant chat.

Step 2: Here, long-press on the chat profile picture or icon.

Step 3: Now, scroll through this window to see recent messages.

While this will allow you to see more messages than the other methods, you can’t see all the messages sent or received within the chat on the Telegram mobile app.

4. Using Google Assistant or Siri to Read the Message

If you’re using an Android device, you can activate Google Assistant to read out the newly received Telegram message without letting the other user know. Here’s how.

Step 1: Use the ‘OK Google’ command to activate Google Assistant.

Step 2: Here, either say or type the command asking Google to read your Telegram message.

This will allow your Google Assistant to read your recently received Telegram message. If you’re using an iPhone, set up and personalize Siri’s response to make it read aloud your recent Telegram messages.

5. Using Third-Party Apps

If you want full access to your Telegram messages without letting the other users know, use certain third-party apps like Unseen – No Last Read. While this will allow you to access messages in different chats without sending read receipts, the third-party app will also access your personal Telegram account data.

In this case, be cautious and double-check the data-sharing requirements before proceeding.

FAQs for Understanding Telegram Read Receipts

Read a Message Without Notification

Read receipts ensure transparency between the sender and the receiver. This is probably one of the reasons why there is no option to disable Telegram read receipts. However, we hope this article helped to circumvent this Telegram feature temporarily.