Sneaky WhatsApp trick lets you read full message without even opening it

12 March 2024 , 10:20

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You no longer have to worry about leaving people 'on read' (stock image) (Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Admit it - you've always wanted to be able to read a message without the sender knowing you've clicked on it.

No one likes being left 'on read' on WhatsApp, but the reality is that you don't always have time to reply to all messages straight away. But that can lead to you eventually forgetting, or that the sender will get annoyed because they can see that you've read it. In an ideal world, you'd be able to read it, to satisfy your curiosity, but that your phone still tells you that you haven't opened it - so you remember to reply to it later.

But we've got good news for all those who feel anxious as soon as they see those two little blue ticks pop up. There's a sneaky trick which lets you read a full message, not just the preview, without having to open it fully. This buys you a bit more time to formulate a proper response - and the sender doesn't even know you've read it.

So how do you do it? As per Android mobile device management solutions company AirDroid, you should, first of all, long-press your home screen, bringing up a menu page. Then, you should tap Widgets, which will in turn show all available widgets. Find the '4 x 1 WhatsApp' widget and pull this onto any of your home pages, long-pressing it once added to enlarge it. Of course, you have to be careful, as tapping any chats will activate them, alerting senders.

This hack is for Android users only, unfortunately. Although iPhone users can choose to disable read WhatsApp receipts in WhatsApp itself, preventing friends, family, and co-workers from spotting those ticks, this also means they won't be able to see when others have seen their messages in turn, which is less than ideal.

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If you're an iPhone user who wants to disable receipts, you should tap 'More options' on WhatsApp, before clicking on 'Settings'. You should then head to 'Privacy', where you will be given the option to turn off read receipts.

According to the WhatsApp website, this action, unfortunately, won't disable read receipts for group chats and neither will it play receipts for voice messages, as "there's no way to turn those settings off".

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz