How to See Who Read Your Message in a WhatsApp Group
How do you see who read your message in a WhatsApp group? Tap and hold a message you sent and tap Info to open Message info. It shows, member by member, who the message was delivered to and who has read it.
You need it because group ticks only turn blue once everyone has read, so grey ticks don't tell you who's missing. Below are the steps for Android, iPhone and Web, what each list means, and why a name might not have moved to Read yet.
How to open Message info
The steps come from WhatsApp's help center.
- Open the group chat.
- Tap and hold a message you sent.
- Tap Info (the letter i in a circle). On Android you may have to tap More options (three vertical dots) and then Info.
On iPhone the steps are the same: tap and hold your sent message, then tap Info. On WhatsApp Web, open the chat, click the Menu (down chevron) on your message and choose Message info.
It only works on messages you sent. You can't open Message info for someone else's message.
What the lists show
Message info is a screen that displays when your sent message was delivered, read or played, for each person. WhatsApp's labels are:
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Delivered | The message reached the person's phone or linked devices, but they haven't seen it |
| Read or Seen | They read the message, or saw your picture, audio file or video. For a voice message, they've seen it but not played it |
| Played | They played your voice message |
The help center doesn't use "Read by" or "Delivered to" as headings, so the exact text on your screen may differ by version. Voice notes add the Played stage, so you can tell someone who saw the chat from someone who listened.
Why the ticks stay grey in a group
In a group chat, the second check mark appears when everyone has received your message, and two blue check marks appear when everyone has read it. One member who hasn't opened the chat keeps your ticks grey. For the full list of tick states, see WhatsApp ticks meaning.
Why someone is missing from the Read list
If a person shows under Delivered but not under Read, the message reached their phone or a linked device but WhatsApp hasn't reported it as read. If they're in neither list, WhatsApp hasn't reported it delivered to them yet.
WhatsApp's list of reasons for missing read receipts includes a few that fit a group member: they might not have opened the conversation, either of you might have connection issues, the date and time settings on one of the phones might be wrong, and when a person gets your message for the first time, a read receipt might not be sent to you.
The read receipts setting isn't one of them in a group. WhatsApp says read receipts are always sent for group chats, and that turning the setting off doesn't disable read receipts for groups. There's no way to turn those off. Our post on WhatsApp read receipts off covers what the setting does in one-to-one chats.
When someone leaves a group, WhatsApp says Message info still shows the original information with all members, including the member who left. If you want to know what a leaving looks like to the group, see if I leave a WhatsApp group will they know.
Can group admins see who read a message?
Not for other people's messages, as far as WhatsApp documents. Its help page describes Message info as showing when your sent message was delivered, read or played, and it describes no extra view for admins. Admins see receipts for what they sent, like every member, and the help center doesn't mention admin rights changing that.
What to do when you need confirmation
Message info tells you a message was read, not that it was understood. For anything that needs a reply, ask for one: a thumbs-up reaction, or a short answer, by a set time. A name stuck under Delivered could be any of the reasons above, so don't read more into it than that. For admin work in larger groups, see WhatsApp group members management.
Where Tenashi fits
In a customer group, the question behind this one is "has the right person seen the announcement?". When the group lives on one phone, only the person holding it can check Message info.
Tenashi connects your own WhatsApp number as a linked device. It reads and replies in the groups that number is in, and puts them in the same shared inbox as your DMs, so the whole team can follow a group. Messages your team sends show WhatsApp's delivery ticks and Seen once WhatsApp reports them read. Tenashi doesn't show a per-member read list. That covers chats on your own connected number, from the day you connect it. More on handling groups in our guide to WhatsApp groups for business.
Plans start at $18/mo. Get started.
FAQ
Can you see who read a message in a WhatsApp group?
Yes, for messages you sent. Press and hold your message in the group and tap Info to open Message info. It lists when the message was delivered, read or played for each member. You can't open it for other people's messages.
How do I check who has read my message in a WhatsApp group?
Open the group, tap and hold your sent message, then tap Info. On Android you might need to tap More options (three vertical dots) and then Info. The Read or Seen section shows who has read it.
Can a WhatsApp group admin see who has read a message?
WhatsApp's help pages don't describe any extra admin view of read receipts. Message info is described as a screen for your own sent message. Being an admin isn't mentioned as giving more, so treat Message info on your own messages as the only read list.
Why don't the ticks turn blue in my WhatsApp group?
In a group, the ticks turn blue only when everyone has read your message. If one member hasn't opened the chat, the message stays grey. Open Message info on the message to see which members have received it and which have read it, and who is still missing.
Can members turn off read receipts in a WhatsApp group?
No. WhatsApp says read receipts are always sent for group chats, and turning off read receipts in privacy settings doesn't disable them in groups. It also doesn't turn off played receipts for voice messages, and WhatsApp says there is no way to turn those off.
Message info shows you who has read what you sent, one message at a time. For a team that needs to watch customer groups together, get started with Tenashi.