WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to send voice messages, allowing you to quickly send an audio recording to contacts instead of typing a text message.
However, one limitation of WhatsApp voice messages is that you don’t get a read receipt to confirm if the recipient has actually listened to your message or not. All you get is a single tick to show the message has been delivered to their device.
This can lead to uncertainty around whether your message has actually been heard. So is there any way to tell if someone has listened to your WhatsApp voice message?
Seeing double ticks
When you send any message on WhatsApp, you will initially see one grey tick after the message has been successfully sent from your device. This indicates it has reached the recipient’s device.
For text messages, two blue ticks will then display when the contact opens the WhatsApp chat screen and views your message. However, for voice messages it’s a bit different.
You will see two blue ticks when the recipient has played your voice message. This provides confirmation they have actually heard your WhatsApp voicemail.
Therefore, if you see two blue ticks after sending a voice note, you can be certain the recipient has played your message and listened to it.
Seeing “Played” text
In addition to the two ticks, another way to confirm if someone has heard your voice message is by looking for the “Played” text.
When your contact listens to your voice message, you will see the word “Played” appear below the message timestamp. This provides further assurance your voicemail has been opened and played back by the recipient.
However, bear in mind the “Played” text and two blue ticks only appear when the recipient has read and played your voice message within the WhatsApp chat. If they listen through their phone’s notifications outside the WhatsApp app, you won’t see confirmation.
Disappearing mic icon
When you send a voice message, a mic icon appears next to the message in your own chat screen. This mic icon remains visible until the recipient has played your voice note.
Once the recipient listens to your voicemail, the mic icon will disappear from your chat screen. This signals they have opened and played back the message.
If the mic icon remains visible, it indicates your voice message is still unplayed. However, bear in mind the recipient may have listened through notifications without opening WhatsApp.
Seeing waveform
When your voice message has been played by the recipient, you will notice a waveform graphic next to the message in your chat. The waveform provides a visual representation of the audio frequencies in your voice note.
If you can see this waveform icon, it means the recipient has definitely played back your voice message on WhatsApp. However, like the other methods, it only confirms playback within the app itself.
Recipient replies
One clear sign that the recipient has listened to your voice message is if they reply, making reference to the contents of your message.
Unlike the other methods which rely on indicatators, if your contact directly responds to your voicemail it shows they have absorbed the information and content you sent.
However, keep in mind it’s still possible (if unlikely) for the recipient to respond without actually listening to your message first.
Using third-party apps
There are some third party apps which claim to provide read receipts for WhatsApp voice messages and notify you when your message has been played.
Apps like Status Saver, ReadMe and WmReader work by extracting read receipts from WhatsApp’s notifications. However, WhatsApp does not authorize these third party apps or their use.
Using such apps to track voice message playback could be considered an invasion of privacy. The apps may also stop working if WhatsApp makes changes to limit notification data access.
Recording Playback
Some Android devices have an option under Settings > Accessibility to get audible playback notifications for voice message recordings. This will play back the recipient’s voice when they listen to your message.
However, this requires specific accessibility settings to be enabled on your phone. It also drains battery life and could annoy nearby contacts who don’t want voice recordings automatically playing from your phone.
As such, this method is unlikely to be very practical for most users.
Limitations
While the double ticks, “Played” text, waveform and mic icon provide good indications, there are some limitations to consider:
- The recipient may listen to your voice message via notifications without opening the WhatsApp chat. In this case, you won’t see the confirmation indicators.
- It’s possible to accidentally trigger playback of a few seconds while scrolling through chats. Your message may show as played without having been listened to in full.
- The recipient could play the voice message in the background while doing other tasks and not be fully attentive.
- Some voice messages are very short in length. The indicators may show as played even if the recipient didn’t get the full context.
Therefore, while useful, these playback indicators don’t guarantee the recipient has carefully listened to and understood your message.
Testing Voice Message Playback
If you want to test whether the playback indicators work as expected, you can easily try it out yourself.
Simply send a voice message to one of your own contacts or a friend who can cooperate with the test. Then get them to listen to the message both within WhatsApp and externally via notifications.
This will allow you to directly see which actions trigger the double ticks, make the mic icon disappear, show the waveform and mark the message as “Played”.
During testing, you may also notice a short time delay between the recipient playing the message and the indicators appearing in your chat. But after a few seconds you should see the confirmation.
Using message expiration
WhatsApp has a feature where you can send messages that will automatically disappear or expire after a set timeframe. This can be enabled in Privacy settings.
For voice messages, enabling expiration could be useful if you want to confirm the recipient plays your message within a certain window of time.
If the voice note expires before being played, you will know the recipient failed to listen to it within the timeframe you set.
Conclusion
In summary, while WhatsApp doesn’t have definitive built-in read receipts for voice messages, there are some handy indicators you can use to determine if a recipient has played your voice note:
- Double blue ticks
- “Played” text
- Disappearing mic icon
- Visible waveform
- Direct reply referencing your message
However, these indicators have limitations and don’t confirm the recipient fully heard and understood your voice message. Testing playback and using expiring messages can help provide more certainty.
But ultimately there is no completely foolproof way within WhatsApp itself to get a read receipt that a recipient has listened to your voice message in full. The platform simply doesn’t provide the functionality, unlike other messaging apps.
So for true confirmation, your best bet is to directly follow up with the recipient or request they acknowledge listening to your important voice notes.