Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
1

When I turn off Send Read Receipts in iMessage, does that disable me from receiving read receipts from others as well? I have noticed that I only receive read receipts when I have the feature turned on.

share|improve this question
are you not recieveing iMessages or others read reciepts? – Graeme Hutchison Nov 16 '11 at 15:07
Seems like an odd thing since most phones I've seen work just fine and receive messages without regard to whether read receipts are sent or not. Have you tried any of the normal things (reboot / restore / restore+set up new) to rule out simple software corruption? – bmike♦ Nov 16 '11 at 15:17
Graeme - read receipts. I edited the question to reflect it. @bmike - I've tried rebooting. It's not a big enough deal for me to restore though lol. Just was curious about the functionality – Thomas Nov 16 '11 at 15:21

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

The functionality is for messages to get delivered via SMS if that is enabled and iMessage is disabled or not available for the sender.

iMessage should / is designed to receive messages whether or not you are sending back read receipts as long as you and the recipient are on devices that match in Apple's database of recipients that are iMessage capable.

Something else is up - it could be related to the switch (as software corruption can act in weird ways) but it's certainly not the typical behavior.

share|improve this answer
Thanks for the response. I think you misunderstood the question though. I'm receiving iMessages just fine. I just don't get the notification saying that the receiver read my message if I have "Send Read Receipts" turned off. – Thomas Jan 10 '12 at 20:10
1  
I hadn't noticed that effect, but I could easily see how that decision was made to suppress all status messages incoming and outgoing with that one switch. I'll have to check it out with someone that I know sends them. – bmike♦ Jan 10 '12 at 20:58
@bmike Do you mean that the "..." (apple.stackexchange.com/q/35188/6533) will be visible regardless of whether or not "Send Read Receipts" is switched on or off? – Pacerier Apr 11 '12 at 10:46
I was hoping to convey that my suspicion is that "..." suppression is tied to the sending of read receipts. There isn't a setting to say, don't let my chat companion know if I'm typing, so it either always shows or only shows when read receipts is enabled (and functioning correctly presumably) – bmike♦ Apr 11 '12 at 11:58
up vote 2 down vote

Read receipts come to you whether or not you have the feature enabled. It shows up under the message you last sent in place of the word "Delivered" and it just says "Read" ...after a period of time it tacks on the time it was read too.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

ok, Ian did pretty good, but I think he could have been a bit more clear with it.

Read Receipts tell the person who sent YOU a message, if you read their message or not. If YOU are SENDING a message, it does NOT matter if YOUR read receipt option is on or off. If the person you sent the message TO have read receipts ON, then directly under the message you sent, if will tell you if they read your message or not. If the person you sent the message to has the option turned OFF, then you will not know if they read your message or not.

So if you turn off read receipts, then people who sent you messages will not know if you read them yet. That's all it does.

share|improve this answer
1  
Lol thanks. I know what the INTENDED functionality is. But I think there are some latent functions as well. I could be wrong though. Just wanted to know had anyone else seen this particular behavior. – Thomas Mar 19 '12 at 15:24
well, not yet I haven't, but most of my friends are content with using me as a guinea pig for IOS 5 while they keep the relatively bug-free IOS 4, just in case the 5 messes up, so i don't really have a use for iMessages yet. – Kristy Semini Mar 20 '12 at 0:39

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.