How to Remove Blue Ticks on WhatsApp: A Guide for Businesses

What Are Blue Ticks?

Blue ticks are message status marks that appear beside messages in WhatsApp. Once a message has been sent, delivered, or read, the message will have two blue ticks next to it.

For businesses, message status can be useful when tracking customer conversations. However, it can also affect customer expectations.

A customer who sees blue ticks may assume an agent is already preparing a reply. Understanding each status is therefore important before deciding whether to turn off WhatsApp read receipts.

There are 3 common Ticks in WhatsApp:

• One Grey Tick: Message sent
• Two Grey Ticks: Message delivered
• Two Bule Ticks: Message read

A message may remain on one grey tick if the recipient’s phone is offline, has no internet connection, or cannot receive the message at that time. Two grey ticks confirm delivery, but they do not prove that the recipient has opened the conversation.

Verify the Two Kinds of “Blue Ticks”

People sometimes use “blue tick” to describe two different WhatsApp features. The two blue ticks beside a message are read receipts. They show that a recipient has opened a message, subject to their privacy settings.

A verified business badge appears beside the business name or profile instead. It indicates that WhatsApp has verified the account as an authentic business presence. The badge does not show whether a message has been read. Turning off read receipts will not remove a business verification badge, and becoming verified will not change how message read receipts work.

How to Remove Blue Ticks on WhatsApp

You can remove blue ticks by switching off the Read receipts setting. The process is similar in WhatsApp Messenger and the WhatsApp Business App, although button positions may vary slightly by app version.

This setting only changes whether read information is shared. Before switching it off, remember that the setting is reciprocal. You will no longer see blue ticks when other people read your messages either.

On Android

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
2. Select Settings.
3. Tap Privacy.
4. Find Read receipts and turn the switch off.

On iOS

1. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
2. Tap Settings in the lower-right corner.
3. Select Privacy.
4. Find Read Receipts and turn the switch off.

You do not need to restart WhatsApp or change the setting for each contact. The change applies to all individual chats. You cannot normally disable blue ticks for only one contact while keeping them active for everyone else.

Should Businesses Turn Off Blue Ticks?

Blue ticks can support transparent communication and timely sales follow-ups, but they may also increase customer expectations and team pressure.

Benefits of Keeping Blue Ticks On

Keeping read receipts active gives both customers and team members clearer information about message activity. The feature works best when the business can respond within a reasonable time after opening a message.

Build Customer Trust

When customers see blue ticks followed by a timely and useful response, they know the business is paying attention. This small sign of activity can reduce uncertainty and make the conversation feel more direct.

However, trust does not come from the blue ticks alone. It depends on what happens next. A quick but inaccurate answer may damage confidence, while a short acknowledgement can give the team time to prepare a complete reply.

Confirm That Customers Read Your Messages

Blue ticks can help a team confirm that a customer has viewed a quotation, support answer, payment reminder, or order update. This is especially useful when the information is time-sensitive or when the next step depends on the customer.

Read status should not be treated as proof of interest or agreement. A person may open a message without reading every detail. Still, blue ticks provide more context than delivery status alone and can help sales and customer service teams choose a suitable time for their next action.

Identify Follow-Up Opportunities

A customer who has read a message but has not replied may need additional information, more time, or a simple reminder. Blue ticks help agents separate these conversations from messages that have not yet been opened.

Follow-ups should remain relevant and respectful. An immediate second message can feel pushy, especially after a quotation or detailed proposal. Teams can use the read status together with the conversation stage, customer value, and previous behavior. This creates a more informed follow-up plan instead of treating every unread reply as a lost opportunity.

Reasons to Turn Blue Ticks Off

Turning off blue ticks may be suitable when message volume is high or when agents often need time to investigate a question. It can reduce the visible gap between opening a message and sending a reply.

Higher Customer Expectations

Once customers see that a message has been read, many expect the business to reply soon. That expectation becomes difficult to meet when the inbox contains many conversations or when an answer requires order details, internal approval, or technical support.

A long gap after the blue ticks appear can make customers feel ignored, even when the team is actively researching the issue. Turning off read receipts removes this visible waiting period. It gives employees more time to check the facts and prepare a useful answer before the customer starts questioning the delay.

Increased Team Workload

Blue ticks can also place extra pressure on sales and support agents. Team members may feel that they must answer immediately because the customer already knows the message has been opened. This can lead to rushed replies, missed details, and frequent interruptions.

The pressure becomes greater when several employees share one account without clear conversation ownership. An agent may open a message but be unable to solve it, while another agent does not know that action is needed. Turning off read receipts can ease part of this pressure, but assignment rules and internal collaboration remain essential.

What Happens After You Turn Off Blue Ticks?

Turning off blue ticks changes more than what customers see. The setting also limits the read information available to your own team. This trade-off matters for businesses that use WhatsApp to send quotations, answer sales questions, or follow up with prospects.

The setting also has important exceptions. It does not remove every form of read information from WhatsApp. Group conversations and voice messages can behave differently from normal one-to-one text chats. Teams should understand these limits before presenting the setting as a complete way to hide message activity.

You Cannot See If Other Users Read Your Messages

WhatsApp read receipts work in both directions. When you turn them off, customers usually cannot see when you read their individual messages. At the same time, you can no longer use blue ticks to confirm that customers have read the messages you send.

This can make sales follow-up less precise. An agent may not know whether a customer has not opened a quotation or has reviewed it but decided not to reply. The team will need to use other signals, such as the customer’s previous activity, conversation stage, follow-up schedule, and direct questions, to choose the next action.

Blue Ticks Still Appear in Group Chats

Disabling read receipts does not fully hide reading activity in WhatsApp group chats. Group participants can still open the message information screen to check who has received or read a message. This allows senders to review delivery and read status for individual members.

As a result, businesses should not use the read receipt setting as a complete privacy measure for group communication. Employees should assume that their reading activity may remain visible. Group members should also avoid opening sensitive messages until they are ready to handle them.

Voice Messages May Still Show Read Receipts

Voice messages are another important exception. When a recipient plays a voice message, WhatsApp may still send a play receipt even if normal read receipts have been disabled. The sender may therefore know that the audio has been opened or played.

This matters for teams that use voice notes to discuss quotations, order details, or customer support issues. Turning off blue ticks should not be described as a guaranteed way to hide all message interaction. Businesses should test the behavior on their current app version and avoid relying on voice messages when read-status privacy is important.

Reduce Reply Pressure with WhatsApp Business API

Turning off blue ticks does not help teams process more conversations. Businesses with a growing message volume may need a system that supports multiple agents, message assignment, automation, and performance tracking.

You can use SaleSmartly to connect to the WhatsApp Business Platform/API and manage WhatsApp conversations in a shared inbox. Your team can then assign conversations, automate routine replies, and track response performance. This shifts the focus from hiding read receipts to helping customers get timely, consistent replies.

WhatsApp API Handles Read Receipts Differently

WhatsApp Business API still supports message status information, including sent, delivered, and read events. However, agents usually manage conversations through an external platform rather than the standard WhatsApp Business App.

The connected platform can control when an incoming message is marked as read through the API. That means teams can mark the read status only when they want to do so if they are using WhatsApp Business API.

Simply displaying a conversation notification does not always mean that a customer immediately sees blue ticks. The exact behavior depends on the platform’s design and configuration. Teams should therefore check how their chosen provider handles read status instead of assuming that the API automatically removes blue ticks.

Use AI Agents and Chatbots to Reduce Stress

Connecting WhatsApp API to a platform such as SaleSmartly gives teams more ways to respond without forcing every message into an immediate manual queue.

In SaleSmartly, AI Agent can identify common customer needs, provide relevant answers, and pass complex or high-value conversations to a human agent with context.

Teams can also build chatbots for frequently asked questions, basic order enquiries, lead collection, and initial routing. These tools do not replace human service in every situation. They reduce repetitive work and provide an immediate first response, giving agents more time to handle questions that require judgement or internal discussion.

A practical workflow may include:

• Send an automatic acknowledgement when a new enquiry arrives.
• Use AI to identify the customer’s intent and required language.
• Answer approved common questions automatically.
• Assign sensitive or complex conversations to the correct employee.
• Transfer the conversation with its history and customer information.

  Free trial

Access More Comprehensive Messaging Metrics

Individual blue ticks provide only one piece of information: whether a specific message appears to have been read. They do not show whether the team is replying efficiently or whether customers receive consistent service.

As a connected customer communication platform, SaleSmartly can provide a broader view through metrics such as first response time, average response time, conversation volume, agent workload, and resolution activity.

These indicators help managers identify slow periods, overloaded employees, and repeated customer questions. Instead of judging performance from one blue tick, managers can review patterns across the whole team. This makes it easier to improve response workflows while maintaining answer quality.

  Free trial

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Turn Off Blue Ticks for Only One Contact?

No. WhatsApp’s Read receipts setting normally applies to all individual chats on your account. You cannot disable blue ticks for one customer while keeping them active for everyone else. Once the setting is turned off, people in individual chats will usually not see when you read their messages. You will also lose the ability to see when they read yours.

Will Turning Off Read Receipts Hide My Online Status?

No. Blue ticks and online status are controlled by different privacy settings. Disabling read receipts only changes whether people can see that you have read their messages. Your online status, last seen time, profile photo, About information, and status updates may still be visible. Review each option under Settings > Privacy if you want to control what customers can see.

Does WhatsApp Business API Automatically Remove Blue Ticks?

No. WhatsApp Business API still supports sent, delivered, and read message events. The connected customer service platform determines when an incoming message is marked as read based on its design and configuration. Simply receiving a notification does not always trigger blue ticks. Businesses should confirm how their provider handles read status instead of assuming that using the API automatically disables read receipts.

Further Reading

WhatsApp Cloud API vs WhatsApp Business API: Which One Should Business Choose?

WhatsApp Business API Updates You Need to Know in 2026

10 Best WhatsApp API Providers in 2026: Features, Pros and Cons, Pricing