verity.
← BlogOFW viewed times
How-To

How to Prove a Text Message Was Read

Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·

A phone with a dark screen beside folded reading glasses and a cup of tea on a saucer on a light wooden table, with a small plant by the window

Short answer

Only an app that records reading can show it. An iMessage shows "Read" when the other person has read receipts on; WhatsApp's Message info shows when a message was read, unless read receipts are off; co-parenting apps such as TalkingParents and OurFamilyWizard log when the other parent viewed a message. A plain SMS has no read receipt at all. Save the receipt the day you see it, as a screenshot of the message with its "Read" time and as part of a full export. Without one, a reply or a later message that refers to yours is the usual proof.

See what gets flagged in a sample chat →Have the file? Number every message, free →

"I never got that message" is easier to answer when the app kept a record of it being opened.

iPhone: iMessage read receipts

  • Apple says that with read receipts on, the sender sees "Read" under their message once you've read it, and "Delivered" until then. Each person chooses, for everyone or contact by contact.
  • So "Delivered" with no "Read" doesn't prove a message went unread: their read receipts may simply be off.
  • Apple's safety guide says read receipts aren't available when messages go as SMS or MMS (green bubbles).

WhatsApp: blue ticks and Message info

  • Two blue ticks mean the message was read. Press and hold a message you sent and open Info: WhatsApp says that screen shows when it was delivered, read, or played (for a voice message).
  • In a group, the ticks turn blue only when everyone has read it; Message info shows each member.
  • WhatsApp lists reasons a receipt can be missing: read receipts turned off (it can't be turned off for groups or voice-message play receipts), a block, a chat not yet opened, connection problems, or a wrong date and time setting on either phone.
  • The exported chat file has the date, time, sender and text of each message, not the read time, so screenshot the Message info screen for the messages that matter.

Android: Google Messages

In Google Messages, read receipts are a feature of RCS chats, set in its settings; Google's RCS FAQ lists read receipts in one-to-one RCS chats with iPhones too. An SMS Backup & Restore file has a "read" flag for each message, but SyncTech's field list describes it only as read or unread on that phone, which is not a receipt from the other person.

Co-parenting apps keep viewed times

Apps built for co-parents record when a message was opened. TalkingParents' message record notes when each subject was viewed (see the TalkingParents record), and OurFamilyWizard shows when a message was first viewed (see OurFamilyWizard first viewed times).

Read times in Verity's numbered list

Where the export records them, the numbered list prints "Read" and the time under each message, and the cover counts how many have one: from an iPhone or Mac Messages database (see reading a chat.db file), from a TalkingParents record, and from an OurFamilyWizard report where it shows read or first viewed times. On your own received messages, an iPhone's read time is when you read it. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

No receipt? What else shows it was read

  • A reply, especially one that answers what you asked.
  • A later message that mentions it ("I saw your text about Friday").
  • Acting on it: turning up at the new time, paying the amount you sent.

Read is not the same as agreed. A read receipt shows the message was opened, nothing more. For how messages are shown to be genuine, see authenticating text messages.

Pages cited

Read on November 3, 2026. These features change; check before you rely on them.

This is general information, not legal advice. Verity is not affiliated with Apple, WhatsApp, Google, SyncTech, TalkingParents or OurFamilyWizard. Ask your attorney what your case needs.

See the read times in your export

Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

Number every message, free →See what gets flagged in a sample chat →