The blue ticks on WhatsApp indicate when a message has been delivered and read by the recipient. While this is a useful feature, there may be times when you want to hide your online status and read receipts from certain contacts.
Why would you want to hide the blue ticks?
There are a few reasons why someone might want to disable the blue ticks:
- Privacy – To prevent contacts from seeing when you’ve read their messages.
- Avoiding unwanted conversations – To read messages without signaling to the sender that you’ve seen them.
- Appearing offline – To seem offline or unavailable to certain contacts.
The blue tick indicator can sometimes feel like an invasion of privacy or cause unwanted pressure to respond immediately. Disabling it allows you to take back some control.
Can I hide blue ticks for specific contacts?
Yes, WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to disable read receipts for specific contacts only. Here’s how to use it:
- Open the WhatsApp chat with the contact you want to hide blue ticks from.
- Tap on the contact’s name at the top of the chat screen.
- Under privacy settings, disable “Read Receipts”.
This will stop read receipts and blue ticks from being sent to that particular contact when you read their messages. You can toggle it on or off at any time.
How do I disable blue ticks for everyone?
To turn off read receipts globally for all your WhatsApp contacts:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Go to the Account tab.
- Tap on Privacy.
- Disable “Read Receipts”.
This will stop the blue ticks from being sent to all contacts when you read their messages. You can still see when they’ve read your messages, but they won’t know if you’ve read theirs.
What are some alternative options?
If you want to keep receipts enabled but just hide your online status, you can:
- Enable Airplane Mode – This will show you as offline.
- Use WhatsApp Web – Read messages here to avoid ticks.
- Turn off Read Receipts – Only hides when you read messages.
The downside is these options apply to all contacts. You can’t selectively hide online status or turn off receipts for specific people only.
What happens if I disable blue ticks?
With read receipts disabled:
- You won’t see double blue ticks when contacts read your messages.
- Contacts won’t see double blue ticks when you read their messages.
- Single grey ticks will still show when messages are delivered.
- Group chat read receipts cannot be disabled.
So messages will still show as “delivered” but contacts won’t get the confirmation when you’ve read them.
Will disabling blue ticks affect my WhatsApp experience?
Aside from some contacts not knowing when you’ve read their messages, disabling read receipts has no major impact on using WhatsApp.
You can still send and receive messages as normal. Group chats, calls, media sharing and all other WhatsApp features will continue working.
The only change is that read receipts won’t display between you and the contacts you’ve disabled it for. Many people use WhatsApp with blue ticks off without issues.
Can contacts tell if I’ve read their message?
With read receipts disabled, there is no definitive way for contacts to know if you’ve read their messages or not. However, there are some signs they could pick up on:
- Replying quickly – Responding soon after they sent it may indicate you read it.
- Tells them something you would only know from reading their message.
- Online status – If you show online after they sent the message.
But without the double blue ticks, they can’t be 100% sure you’ve read it. Disabling receipts adds uncertainty.
Will my contacts know I’ve disabled blue ticks?
When you first disable read receipts, your contacts will notice the double blue ticks stop showing up. But there’s no notification sent out informing contacts you’ve disabled it.
If they ask why they’re not seeing read receipts anymore, you can just say you have them disabled for privacy reasons. Most people are understanding about this.
Can I see if contacts have disabled blue ticks?
Unfortunately there is no way to tell if someone else has disabled read receipts for you specifically.
Some signs include:
- No double blue ticks when they read your messages.
- They don’t reply immediately after you can see they’re online.
- They say they have read receipts disabled.
But without the read receipts, you can’t know for sure if they’ve disabled it or just haven’t read your messages yet.
Conclusion
Disabling blue ticks or read receipts in WhatsApp is simple and private. While removing this useful indicator, it allows you to take back some control over when contacts know you’ve read their messages.
There are options to disable it for specific chats or all chats globally. Aside from some contacts not getting read confirmation, it doesn’t affect using WhatsApp.
So if you value your privacy or want to avoid the pressure to instantly reply, consider toggling off those blue ticks in your WhatsApp settings.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why would you want to hide the blue ticks? | For privacy, avoiding unwanted conversations, or appearing offline. |
| Can I hide blue ticks for specific contacts? | Yes, you can disable read receipts for individual chats. |
| How do I disable blue ticks for everyone? | Turn off read receipts in your WhatsApp account privacy settings. |
| What happens if I disable blue ticks? | You won’t see read receipts from others. They won’t see them from you. |
| Will my contacts know I’ve disabled blue ticks? | No notification, but they’ll notice read receipts stop showing up. |
| Can I see if a contact has disabled blue ticks? | No definitive way to tell – you must make an educated guess. |