Does LinkedIn Have Read Receipts? 2026 Guide

Send LinkedIn messages to prospects. Want to know if they read them? Did that recruiter see your reply?

If you have been wondering does LinkedIn have read receipts? the answer is Yes.

LinkedIn introduced this feature in 2017 to help users track message engagement.

In this comprehensive 2026 guide, you will learn:

What LinkedIn read receipts are and how they work
How to turn them on or off (desktop and mobile)
Best practices for managing read receipts across teams

Let's dive in.

What Are LinkedIn Read Receipts?

LinkedIn read receipts are visual indicators that show when someone has opened and read your message.

They show you who sees and engages with your messages.

When a recipient reads your message, their profile picture appears as a small icon below your sent message.
This gives you real-time visibility into message status.

Understanding Message Status Indicators

LinkedIn uses three different indicators to show message status:

Status	Visual Indicator	What It Means
Delivered	Checkmark icon	Message sent successfully
Read	Recipient's profile picture	Message opened and viewed
Typing	"... is typing" text	Recipient is composing reply

Important limitation: Read receipts and typing indicators don't work for InMail or Sponsored messages. They only function in regular LinkedIn messaging conversations.

How LinkedIn Read Receipts Work

Both users must turn on read receipts for it to work.

If you enable read receipts, you see when others read your messages. But they also see when you read theirs.

If you turn it off, you won't see read status from others. And they won't see yours.

What the Icons Look Like

When someone reads your message, look for these signs:

Their profile photo appears below your message
The photo stays visible even after you close the chat
Desktop and mobile show the same icon

Differences by Device

Read receipts look different on each device:

Desktop: Icons appear right away in the message panel. They are larger and clearer.
Mobile app: Smaller profile icons show below messages in the chat.
Browser on phone: Like desktop but made for smaller screens.

Managing many accounts? When you manage many LinkedIn accounts, tracking read status is hard. Tools with a unified inbox make this easier for teams.

Note: If read receipts don't appear, both users must turn on the feature in settings.

How to Turn On LinkedIn Read Receipts

Enabling read receipts is straightforward on both desktop and mobile platforms. Follow these step-by-step instructions.

Desktop Instructions

Click the "Me" icon in the top navigation bar
Select "Settings & Privacy" from the dropdown menu
Navigate to "Data Privacy" in the left sidebar
Find "Messaging experience" section
Select "Read receipts and typing indicators"
Toggle "Delivery indicators" ON (blue switch)

Mobile Instructions (iOS & Android)

Tap your profile picture in the top left corner
Select "Settings" from the menu
Go to "Communications" tab
Select "Read receipts and typing indicators"
Toggle the switch ON (turns blue when enabled)

Quick tip: Changes apply immediately to new conversations. Existing conversations may take a few minutes to update.

Premium vs Free: Premium and Free accounts have identical read receipt functionality no paid upgrade required.

How to Turn Off LinkedIn Read Receipts

Want to read messages privately? Follow the same steps above and toggle the switch OFF instead.

Why Disable Read Receipts?

Many professionals choose to disable this feature for valid reasons:

1. Privacy when researching competitors

Review profiles and messages without alerting others
Gather competitive intelligence discreetly

2. Avoiding pressure to respond immediately

Read messages on your own schedule
Prevent expectation of instant replies

3. Strategic cold outreach timing

Control when you appear engaged
Plan thoughtful responses without pressure

Important trade-off: When you disable read receipts, you won't see others' read status either. It's an all-or-nothing feature.

Can You Read LinkedIn Messages Without Being Seen?

Yes, you can read LinkedIn messages without triggering read receipts using several methods.

Primary Method: Disable Read Receipts

Turn off read receipts in your settings before opening messages. This prevents the sender from seeing you've read their message.

3 Additional Tactics

1. Mark as unread after reading (Desktop only)

Read the message normally
Right-click the conversation
Select "Mark as unread"
Sender still sees read receipt but your inbox shows unread

2. Read from notification preview (Mobile)

View message content in push notifications
Don't tap to open the full conversation
Limited to first 50-80 characters

3. Avoid third-party browser extensions

Many extensions claim to hide read status
High account safety risk, violates LinkedIn terms
Can result in account restrictions or bans
Learn about safe LinkedIn automation practices

LinkedIn Read Receipts for Sales Teams

Read receipts become powerful tools when used strategically for B2B outreach and sales prospecting.

Sales professionals rely on read receipts to:

Gauge prospect interest level based on read patterns
Optimize follow-up timing with data-driven decisions
Identify engaged vs unresponsive leads for prioritization

Want to master LinkedIn sales outreach? Check our complete LinkedIn outreach automation guide.

Strategic Uses for Sales Outreach

Scenario 1: Read + No Response

Prospect saw your message but didn't reply
Action: Follow up within 24-48 hours with value-add content
Example: Share relevant case study or industry insight

Scenario 2: Not Read

Message sits unread for 3+ days
Action: Test different send times or subject hooks
Try mornings (8-10 AM) or late afternoons (4-5 PM)

Scenario 3: Read Multiple Times

Prospect opens message 2-3 times
Action: High interest signal accelerate outreach
Consider direct call or premium content offer

The Multi-Account Challenge

Agencies and sales teams often manage 5-10+ LinkedIn accounts. Tracking read status across all profiles is nearly impossible.

A sales rep with 3 LinkedIn accounts must:

Log in and out repeatedly
Track conversations in spreadsheets
Risk duplicate outreach to same prospects
Miss optimal follow-up windows

Bearconnect Solution for Teams

Bearconnect's unified inbox consolidates messages from all your team's LinkedIn accounts into one dashboard.

See read status, schedule follow-ups, and coordinate responses without account-switching chaos.

Pricing: Starting at $67/month per LinkedIn account (or $57/month for 5+ accounts).

3 Key Team Benefits

1. Monitor all conversations in real-time

Single dashboard for entire team
No account switching required

2. Prevent duplicate outreach to same prospect

Team-wide conversation history
Avoid embarrassing double messages

3. Analyze response patterns across accounts

Track which messages get read and replied to
Optimize your entire team's approach

Inconsistent read status? Check if the recipient disabled receipts mid-conversation this causes status to stop updating.

How to Use Read Receipts for Better Follow-Ups

Read receipts give you data to time your follow-ups strategically.

When prospect reads but doesn't respond:

Wait 3-5 days before following up
Add new value (case study, industry insight, helpful resource)
Use proven message templates that get responses
Avoid generic "just checking in" messages
Reference something specific to re-engage

When message stays unread for 3+ days:

Test different send times (mornings 8-10 AM often work better)
Try a different subject approach
Consider whether timing is right for outreach

Managing follow-ups across multiple LinkedIn accounts?

Automation tools like Bearconnect help you track read status and schedule strategic follow-ups across all your team's accounts.

Beyond Basic Read Receipts: Advanced Tracking

LinkedIn's native read receipts have significant limitations. Understanding what they DON'T tell you helps you make better outreach decisions.

What LinkedIn Read Receipts DON'T Tell You

Message sentiment or interest level — No emotional context
How long they spent reading — Just that they opened it
If they clicked any links — No engagement tracking
Conversation patterns across your team — No unified analytics

Why Sales Teams Need More

Basic read/unread status isn't enough for data-driven outreach. Teams need conversation analytics, unified reporting, and collaborative inbox management.

Modern sales teams require:

Response rate tracking by message type
Team performance benchmarking
Automated follow-up workflows
CRM integration for complete picture

Bearconnect Advanced Features

Unified Inbox

Manage multiple LinkedIn accounts from one dashboard without constant account switching.

Analytics Dashboard

Track response rates, read times, and engagement across all conversations with visual reports.

Automation Tools

Schedule follow-ups based on read status and set up rule-based workflows.

Data Import

Pull LinkedIn conversation data for CRM integration and advanced reporting.

Team Collaboration

Assign messages, add internal notes, and prevent duplicates with shared context.

Ready to Scale Your LinkedIn Outreach?

Manage your entire team's LinkedIn messages with Bearconnect.

Start Running campaign with 7 day Free trail

Stop juggling multiple accounts and start converting more conversations into opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does LinkedIn have read receipts?

Yes, LinkedIn introduced read receipts in 2017. When someone reads your message, their profile picture appears as a small icon below your sent message. Both users must have the feature enabled for it to work.

2. Can you tell if someone read your LinkedIn message?

Yes, if both you and the recipient have read receipts enabled in settings. You'll see their profile picture icon when they open your message. If disabled by either party, read status won't appear.

3. How do I turn off read receipts on LinkedIn?

Go to Settings & Privacy → Data Privacy → Read receipts and typing indicators → Toggle OFF. This prevents others from seeing when you read messages, but you won't see their read status either.

4. Can I read a LinkedIn message without the sender knowing?

Yes, disable read receipts in settings before opening messages. You can also read notification previews on mobile without opening the full conversation. Avoid third-party browser extensions as they risk account safety.

5. Why can't I see read receipts on some messages?

The other person likely has read receipts disabled in their settings. Both parties must enable the feature for it to work. InMail and Sponsored messages don't support read receipts regardless of settings.

Take Control of Your LinkedIn Messaging

You now understand how LinkedIn read receipts work, when to enable or disable them, and how to use read status data strategically.

Your next steps:

For individual users:

Enable read receipts in Settings → Data Privacy to track message engagement. Disable when you need to research competitors or read messages privately.

For sales teams managing 5+ LinkedIn accounts:

LinkedIn's native read receipts don't scale across multiple profiles. Consider unified inbox tools like Bearconnect to monitor read status, coordinate team responses, and prevent duplicate outreach

Questions about LinkedIn read receipts? I think Dont!