To turn off read receipts on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Turn Off Read Receipts for All Contacts

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Messages.
3. Find the Send Read Receipts option.
4. Toggle the switch to the off position (the switch will turn gray). This disables read receipts for all your message conversations, so senders will no longer see when you have read their messages

Turn Off Read Receipts for Specific Contacts

If you want to disable read receipts only for certain contacts but keep them on for others:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Select the conversation with the contact you want to disable read receipts for.
3. Tap the contact's name or profile icon at the top of the screen.
4. Scroll down to find Send Read Receipts or Share Read Status.
5. Toggle the switch to the off position for that contact. Now, only that contact won’t see when you read their messages

You can repeat this for any individual contacts as needed.

To Turn Read Receipts Back On

Simply follow the same steps and toggle the switch back to the on position (it will turn green), either globally or per contact, depending on your preference

. This feature applies only to iMessages (blue bubbles), not SMS messages (green bubbles), so read receipts won't be sent for texts to non-iPhone users

. By managing this setting, you gain more privacy and control over your messaging experience on your iPhone.