How to know if your message has been read on Signal

These days it seems like Signal is becoming everyone’s new favorite messaging app, and with good reason. Signal encrypts all your messages on your phone, and there’s no way for third-party software to gain access to your conversations.

Everything you type on Signal stays between you and the person you’re texting. But how do you know if that person has read your message? In this article, we will cover this and other burning questions related to sending and receiving messages in Signal.

How to know if your message has been read on Signal

As we said, Signal is all about security. For that reason, you can’t simply see if the recipient has read your message. If you want this feature to work, you and your contact must have read receipts enabled.

Below we’ll show you how to enable read receipts on your end.

How to enable read receipts in Signal

1. Open Signal on your device.

   

2. Go to Signal Settings. You’ll get there by clicking on the small, round avatar at the top left of the screen.

   

3. Go to “Privacy.”

   

4. Make sure to toggle the “Read receipts” button, thus enabling it.

   

Your contact should do the same so you can see if they have read your message. If so, you’ll see two shaded gray circles with white checkmarks next to the message. It is a sign that the recipient has read your message.

You can double check if receipt reading is enabled by following these steps:

1. Keep the message.

   

2. Tap “Information” in the pop-up menu.

   

3. On the new screen you will see if your message was read or not.

   

How to disable read receipts in Signal

If you no longer want your contact to see if your message has been read, you can turn off the feature like this:

1. Launch Signal on your device.

   

2. Go to the settings menu. You’ll get there by clicking on the small, round avatar at the top of the screen.

   

3. Gonna “Privacy.”
   
   
4. Under the “Messenger service” section, search “Read receipts.” Disable it by clicking the toggle button.

   

How to verify that read receipts are disabled

Once you’ve disabled read receipts, it’s time to check them again. This is what you can do:

1. Open a conversation in Signal and send a message.

   

2. For Android, you should now see two gray checkmarks inside two white circles. The first check mark means that the Signal server received the message. The second check mark means that the message was delivered to the recipient.

   

For iOS, you’ll see “Sent” or “Delivered” instead of “Read.” “Sent” means that the message arrived at the Signal server. “Delivered” means that your message is delivered to the recipient.

Additional FAQs

Can you tell if anyone has enabled read receipts?

Read receipts are an optional feature in Signal. It means that a user can control whether they want to share the “reading” status or not. You can’t see if your contact has turned on read receipts unless you turn them on yourself. If you can see two gray circles with white checkmarks inside, it means your contact has turned on read receipts and read your message.

How to know if your signal message was not delivered

You may see two types of signs next to your message telling you that it was not delivered. The first is a circle with a dotted line that means “Sending.” You’ll probably have to wait a few seconds before it sends the message. But if it continues for more than a minute, you should check your internet connection. The second is a white circle with a gray check mark inside it. It means that your message was sent but has not been delivered yet. Your Internet connection is fine.

What should I do if my message was not delivered?

The most likely reason why your message was not delivered is that your contact is not connected to mobile data or the Internet. In case of emergency, we recommend calling or sending an SMS. Additionally, your contact may no longer be on Signal. In that case, you can invite them again or contact them through another app.

How can I mark messages as unread?

Sometimes you can open a new message when you’re busy and forget to reply later. That’s why marking messages as unread can remind you that you didn’t reply and you can do it when you have time.

Here’s how to mark messages as unread on all devices:

For Android users

1. Launch Signal on your device and find a chat with messages that you want to mark as unread. Press and hold chat.

2. In the pop-up menu, tap “Unread.”

For iOS users

1. Launch Signal on your iOS device.

2. Press and hold the chat you want to mark as unread and swipe it to the right.

3. Press “Unread.”

On the desk

Marking messages as unread on a desktop is only available in Signal 1.38.0 or later.

1. Select a chat you want to mark as unread.

2. Go to the conversation settings. They are the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen.

3. Click “Mark as unread.”

Taking your privacy to the next level

Now you have learned more about Signal’s message delivery system. With Signal, you are in control of every aspect of your privacy. Not only are your messages safe from outside visitors, but you can also manipulate how much privacy you give your contacts by enabling read receipts. We can definitely see why so many people have joined Signal recently.