How to Turn Off Read Receipts on LinkedIn (and What Changes)

There's a particular kind of pressure that comes from knowing someone can see you've opened their message. A recruiter, a prospect, a former colleague asking a favour: the moment LinkedIn shows them you've read it, the clock starts ticking on your reply. I like having the choice to read first and answer when I've had time to think, and LinkedIn does give you that choice.

The catch is that the switch no longer carries the name most people search for. Below I'll show you where it lives now, what it changes on both sides of a conversation, and when I'd leave it switched on. Every step follows LinkedIn's own help centre, so the labels should match your screen.

Turning off LinkedIn read receipts on a computer

If you're at a desk, this takes well under a minute.

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Choose Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.
3. Click Data privacy in the left-hand panel.
4. Under the heading Messaging experience, click Delivery and typing indicators.
5. Use the toggle to switch the setting off.

LinkedIn's help article describes the toggle as the whole job, so once it shows as off you're done.

Switching off LinkedIn read receipts in the mobile app

The phone route mirrors the desktop one, just with taps instead of clicks.

1. Tap your profile photo in the LinkedIn app.
2. Tap Settings & Privacy.
3. Tap Data privacy.
4. Under Messaging experience, tap Delivery and typing indicators.
5. Use the toggle to turn it off.

If the app on your phone looks slightly different, it's worth checking you're on the latest version, because menu order can shift between app updates. The labels Data privacy and Messaging experience are the ones to look for.

Why LinkedIn's read receipt switch has a different name now

If you've been scrolling through settings looking for the words read receipts, that's probably why you ended up here. LinkedIn's help centre now labels the control Delivery and typing indicators, and it sits inside Data privacy rather than in a separate messaging menu. It's one toggle that handles two things at once: the read marker on your messages and the little typing signal that appears while someone writes a reply.

You can't keep one and drop the other. If you're happy for people to know you're typing but don't want them to see when you've opened a message, LinkedIn doesn't currently split those apart. According to LinkedIn, the feature is on by default, so unless you've changed it before, yours is switched on right now.

What changes in your LinkedIn conversations once read receipts are off

This is the part people don't expect. LinkedIn's help article says that when the setting is off, no one in the conversation, including you, can see whether messages have been read or whether someone is typing. It works both ways. You gain privacy, and you lose the same signal about other people.

Here's how the message status looks from each side, based on LinkedIn's help pages about message indicators:

Situation	What the sender sees
Still on its way	Sending message
Delivered to their inbox	Message sent
Opened, with indicators on for both people	Message read
Opened, but the recipient has indicators off	Stays on Message sent

So if you switch it off, your contacts will see your messages as sent and never as read. And when you send a message to someone else, you'll stop seeing whether they've opened it, even if they still have the feature switched on.

Your own inbox doesn't change much. LinkedIn still marks unseen messages with a red badge on the Messaging icon and unread conversations with a blue badge, so you won't lose track of what's waiting for you.

LinkedIn read receipts with InMail and message requests

Two types of message already behave differently, whatever your setting says:

• InMail: LinkedIn says read receipts and typing indicators don't appear to people who send InMail. If a stranger reaches you that way, they won't see that you've read it either way.
• Message requests: for requests from people you're not connected with, read receipts only appear once you accept the request. Reading and ignoring a request doesn't tell the sender anything.

That means switching the setting off mostly affects conversations with your existing connections. If your main worry is cold outreach landing in your inbox, you may already have more privacy than you thought.

Should a small business owner keep LinkedIn read receipts on?

I'll be honest: for most people who use LinkedIn to win work, I'd lean towards leaving them on. When you're following up with a prospect, seeing that they've opened your note tells you whether to wait or nudge. Turn the setting off and you'll be guessing, because the signal disappears for you too.

There are good reasons to switch it off, though:

• You're job hunting quietly and don't want a current contact reading anything into how fast you open messages.
• You get a lot of requests and favours, and you'd like to read them without feeling rushed into a reply.
• You're on a break or managing your wellbeing and want LinkedIn to feel lower pressure for a while.

If you do keep them on, I'd pair them with a sensible routine for replying. My guide on saving time managing a LinkedIn profile or Company Page has a few ideas for batching that kind of admin, and if you're newer to the platform, getting started with LinkedIn for business covers the basics of setting your profile up to bring in enquiries.

If you can't find the LinkedIn read receipts toggle

A few things usually explain a missing or stubborn switch:

• You're looking under an old name. Search your settings for Delivery and typing indicators rather than read receipts.
• You're in the wrong section. The toggle lives under Data privacy, then Messaging experience, not under Visibility or Communications.
• Your app needs an update. Older versions of the LinkedIn app can show menus in a different order, so update it from your app store and try again.
• The other person says they still saw a read marker. If it was on an older message, it may have been read before you made the change, so check the toggle again and close and reopen the app.

If none of that helps, LinkedIn's help centre is the place to go next, since its support team can see account details you can't. Menus vary by app version, so if a label looks slightly different on your screen, look for the nearest match under Data privacy.

Turning LinkedIn read receipts back on later

Nothing here is permanent. Follow the same path, Settings & Privacy, then Data privacy, then Delivery and typing indicators, and flip the toggle back on. You'll start seeing read markers again on conversations where the other person has the feature switched on too. I'd suggest trying it off for a week or two and noticing whether you miss the information. Lots of people find they do, especially if they use LinkedIn messages for sales follow-ups.

This guide is part of my LinkedIn Help: 28 Guides to Profile Views, Impressions, Algorithm and Account Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off read receipts on LinkedIn?

Go to Me, then Settings & Privacy, then Data privacy. Under Messaging experience, open Delivery and typing indicators and switch the toggle off. In the app, start by tapping your profile photo.

Will people know I turned off read receipts on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn doesn't send a notification. They'll simply see your messages as sent rather than read, and they won't see a typing indicator while you write.

Can I still see when others read my LinkedIn messages if mine are off?

No. LinkedIn says that with the setting off, no one in the conversation, including you, can see whether messages have been read or whether someone is typing.

Can I turn off typing indicators but keep read receipts on LinkedIn?

Not currently. LinkedIn handles both with one Delivery and typing indicators toggle, so they go on and off together.

Do read receipts show on LinkedIn InMail?

LinkedIn says read receipts and typing indicators don't appear to people who send InMail. For message requests, they only appear once the request is accepted.