How to Know if Someone Read Your Text

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. Sign Up. *

This article will tell you how to tell if a text has been read. Texting can be a quick way to communicate, as long as the other person reads the message. Here's how to tell if a text has been read, so you can stop worrying your text didn't go through. The people you text will have to be using iMessages and have Read Receipts enabled.

Related: Hands-Free Texting with Siri: How to Dictate Text on iPhone

Discover your iPhone's hidden features

Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

Why You'll Love This Tip

• Let your friends know you've seen their texts without having to respond.
• See if your friends have received your messages and stop wondering if people are getting your texts.

How to Tell if a Text Message Was Read

How do you know if someone read your text? You'll have to enable read receipts. This is a function that lets you see when someone read your text message, as long as they have this feature enabled, too. If they don't, you won't know whether or not they read your text, but if it's important for you and another person to check your correspondence, it's good for both of you to enable this.

How to Turn On Read Receipts

1. Open Settings.
   
   
    
2. Tap Messages.
   
   
    
3. Toggle Send Read Receipts on.
   
   

If Read Receipts on your device is toggled off, the person who sent you the text won't be able to see if you read it or not. Likewise, if the person you sent a text to has disabled Read Receipts, you can't see if they have read your text. 

You can customize the Read Receipts option for individual contacts as well. For example, you can disable Read Receipts for a coworker but still have them available for other contacts. To learn more about the Messages app, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

How to Change Read Receipts for an Individual Contact

1. Open Messages and tap the text conversation with the contact.
   
   
    
2. Tap the contact card at the top of the conversation.
   
   
    
3. Toggle Send Read Receipts either on or off.
   
   
    
4. Tap Done.
   
   

Now you know how Read Receipts work and how to enable them. As long as the people you text have this feature enabled, you'll be able to see if and when they've read your message.