For many, Whatsapp’s blue ticks are a welcome feature that lets users know exactly when their message has been read.
For others, however, they have made it harder to ignore people – and the feature’s release earlier this month led to a backlash from a number of disgruntled members.
The update is in beta, which means it is not a full, official release, and it requires users to install the Android APK. Once installed, they can disable the receipts in the Privacy section of Settings.
In response, Whatsapp now lets users disable these Read Receipts – but only if they’re using an Android phone
It is not known when the full update will be pushed out to all users, or when other platforms, including iOS, Windows and BlackBerry, will see the changes.
Before the blue tick update, there were only two types of tick – a single grey tick meant the message had been successfully sent, and a double grey tick meant it had been delivered.
Now, when a message has been sent, delivered and read, the double grey tick turns blue.
In a group chat, the second ticks appear when all participants in the group have received the message.
And two blue ticks only appear when all participants in the group have read the post.
To see what time the messages were read users can now press and hold down on a particular post.
Selecting the Message Info option reveals the time the message was read, and in the case of group messages, what time each member read it.
WhatsApp rolled out the changes to all variations of its app, across iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Nokia S40, Nokia S60 and BlackBerry 10.
Users need to update the app on their devices to see the changes.
More information about the features can be found on WhatsApp’s FAQ page.
At the time, the changes divided opinion, especially on Twitter.
Some users were concerned the update makes it harder for them to ignore others, and makes it easier for people to keep tabs on them.
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which has a similar feature on its Messenger app.
When a message is opened and read, a tick appears in the message list and the time it was ‘seen’ appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the post.
Apple’s iMessages also use this feature. To disable this, go to Settings and Messages and switch the Send Read Receipts to off.
1 thought on “WhatsApp releases update that stops people from knowing when a message has been read”
Why are you friends with someone and want to ignore their messages