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How to Read WhatsApp Messages Without Sender Knowing

Quick Tips
  • You can easily preview WhatsApp messages from notifications. On Android, swipe down from the top of the screen; on iPhone, swipe down from the center or left side to open the Notification Center.
  • One of the easiest ways to read a lengthy WhatsApp message without opening it is to rotate your phone to landscape orientation. This will show you more message’s content than portrait orientation.

Method 1: Dive Into Notification History (Android)

You can read WhatsApp messages without letting the sender know by accessing the Notification History on your Android smartphone. Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1: Swipe down from the top of the screen to access the notification panel.

Step 2: Tap History.

Step 3: From this section, you can view all messages and tap the arrow to expand or collapse them.

Notification History on Android

Method 2: Tap-and-Hold Trick on iPhone

You can long press on any chat on your iPhone to quickly preview its contents. Here are the steps to follow:

Note: The preview of a WhatsApp chat will reveal only the first few messages.

Step 1: Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and navigate to the chat you want to read.

Step 2: Press and hold the chat to open its preview.

Long Press WhatsApp Chat Preview

Method 3: Unveil Long Messages via WhatsApp Widget (Android)

The WhatsApp widget on Android allows you to read super-long messages without showing the blue tick to the sender. Here’s how to access it on your smartphone.

Step 1: Navigate to WhatsApp on your Android phone and long-press on it.

Step 2: Tap Widgets.

WhatsApp in App Drawer on Android

Step 3: Hold and drag the widget to the home screen.

You can now read lengthy messages without notifying the sender.

Reading WhatsApp messages from Widget on Android

Method 4: A Quick Workaround With Read Receipts (Android)

WhatsApp on Android has a bug that allows you to read any message without letting the sender know. The process to do so is simple.

Note: Upon testing, we found that this trick works on almost all Android phones.

Step 1: Open WhatsApp and tap the three-dot menu.

Step 2: Tap Settings from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: On the Settings page, tap Privacy.

Step 4: Disable the toggle for Read receipts.

Step 5: Now, go back to the message you want to read and tap to open it.

Step 6: After reading, swipe from the bottom and hold to open the recent apps tray.

Step 7: Swipe up and remove WhatsApp from the recent apps.

Once done, launch WhatsApp and re-enable read receipts. WhatsApp will not notify the sender that the message has been read.

Method 5: Use WhatsApp Web

WhatsApp Web also allows you to read messages in stealth without bothering settings. Here’s how:

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp web on any browser and log in with your WhatsApp account.

Step 2: Hover the mouse pointer over the chat you want to read.

That’s it! The whole message’s content will be shown in the preview for you to read in stealth.

Read WhatsApp messages on WhatsApp without sender knowing

FAQs

1. How many old messages can I read from Notification History on an Android?

The Notification History on Android only tracks messages from the past 24 hours.

2. Is the WhatsApp widget available on iOS?

Unfortunately, no. But maybe WhatsApp can introduce it in future updates.

3. Does the read receipt trick work on iPhones?

No. This is a bug on Android only.

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Last updated on 25 July, 2024

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