Read Receipts disabled but still being sent
Why is my friend (android user) able to tell when i’ve read their texts? “Read receipts” is off both in my general settings and for her specifically.
iPhone 17, iOS 26
The Read Receipts setting is only for using iMessage between both users, meaning they are Apple devices. What you are seeing when sending to an Android user is because you are using RCS for messaging. RCS is not an Apple protocol and uses read receipts without an option to turn them off. What you can do is turn off RCS on your device, so the message will revert to SMS where read receipts is not used. You do that by going to Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging.
- RCS messaging is a carrier-provided service.
- RCS also supports delivery receipts, read receipts and typing indicators.
Turn on RCS messaging on your iPhone - Apple Support