Table of Contents
How To Know If Someone Read Your Message On LinkedIn
LinkedIn Message Status Icons: What Each One Means
Step 1: Look for the "Sent" Icon
Step 2: Look for the "Seen" Icon
Step 3: Check Your Message History
How Read Receipts Work & Their Limitations
How to Turn Read Receipts & Typing Indicators On or Off
Can You Read a LinkedIn Message Without the Sender Knowing?
Why This Matters (Pros & Cons of Enabling Read Receipts)
Best Practices for Using Read Receipts Strategically
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions
Modified On :
May 27, 2026
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn shows message status through icons like “Sent,” “Delivered,” and “Seen.”
- Read receipts appear as a small profile photo but only work if both users enable the feature.
- InMail and unaccepted connection requests do not support read receipts.
- You can toggle read receipts and typing indicators on or off in your LinkedIn settings.
- Enabling read receipts improves transparency but may reduce privacy.
- Smart use of read receipts can help you time follow-ups and refine your sales or networking strategy.
Yes, LinkedIn has read receipts — and if you know how to use them, they'll change how you time your follow-ups.
LinkedIn introduced read receipts in 2017. When enabled, they appear as a small profile photo icon at the bottom-right corner of your sent message, indicating the recipient opened it. On desktop, hovering over that icon shows the exact time it was read.
There's a catch: read receipts only work when both the sender and recipient have the feature turned on. If either party has it disabled, neither side sees the indicator — regardless of whether the message was actually read. This is why you might see read receipts on some conversations but not others.
This guide covers how LinkedIn read receipts work, what all the message status icons mean, how to turn them on or off, and how to use them strategically in your outreach.
LinkedIn Message Status Icons: What Each One Means
LinkedIn uses four distinct indicators to show the status of a sent message. Here's what each one means:
The checkmark specifically (circle with a tick) means your message was delivered — not read. It's confirmed that it landed in their inbox. The moment they open it, the checkmark is replaced by their profile photo.
On desktop, hovering your mouse over the profile photo icon shows the exact timestamp of when the message was opened.
One important note: the profile photo (read) indicator only appears if both you and the recipient have read receipts enabled. If you see a checkmark but it never upgrades to a profile photo, either the message hasn't been opened yet, or the recipient has read receipts turned off.
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Step 1: Look for the "Sent" Icon
If the recipient has not yet read your message, you will see a small icon of a circle with a checkmark inside it. This indicates that the message has been delivered to the recipient's inbox but has not yet been opened.
The timestamp next to the message will still show the time and date that it was sent.
Step 2: Look for the "Seen" Icon
If the recipient has read your message, you will see a small icon with the person’s face inside it. This indicates that the message has been read.
The timestamp next to the message will also update to show the time and date that it was read. The seen icon does not always show even if it’s been read.
The seen icon does not always appear even when a message has been read. Read receipts are mutual — the indicator only shows if both sender and recipient have the feature enabled. LinkedIn premium or Sales Navigator status does not guarantee the icon appears; the setting toggle is what matters.
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Step 3: Check Your Message History
If you want to see the status of all the messages you have sent, you can check your message history. To do this, go to your LinkedIn inbox and click on the "Messages" tab.
From here, you can see all the messages you have sent and received, as well as their status (i.e., sent, delivered, or read).
Furthermore, you can see connection invitations sent by going to My Network > Sent.
If you have a proper Sales Navigator workflow , you can toggle your view by the filters below.
For more detailed information on the differences between a regular LinkedIn Inbox vs. a Sales Navigator Inbox, check out our YouTube explainer video here:
How Read Receipts Work & Their Limitations
LinkedIn offers read receipts to help you know if your message was seen—but there are some important details to understand.
When a read receipt is available, you’ll notice a tiny profile photo of the recipient appearing at the bottom-right corner of your message. This indicator only shows up for regular LinkedIn messages (not InMail or pending connection requests).
However, there are a few limitations you should keep in mind:
- Both parties must enable read receipts and typing indicators in their LinkedIn settings. If either person has it turned off, you won’t see whether the message was read.
- Not available for InMail: Read receipts don’t work for InMail messages you send to people outside your network.
- Not available for unaccepted requests: If you message someone you aren’t connected with, you won’t see a read receipt unless they accept your connection request.
So while read receipts can give you extra visibility, they’re not always guaranteed—making them only one part of the picture when tracking message engagement.
How to Turn Read Receipts & Typing Indicators On or Off
LinkedIn gives you the choice to control your privacy by turning read receipts and typing indicators on or off. Here’s how you can manage these settings on both desktop and mobile:
💻 On Desktop
- Log into your LinkedIn account.
- Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Select Settings & Privacy.
- From the left-hand menu, choose Communications.
- Scroll down to the Messaging experience section.
- Toggle Read receipts and typing indicators on or off depending on your preference.
📱 On Mobile (LinkedIn App)
- Open the LinkedIn app and tap your profile icon in the top left corner.
- Select Settings.
- Go to Communications.
- Tap Messaging experience.
- Use the toggle next to Read receipts and typing indicators to turn the feature on or off.
👉 Pro Tip: If you want more privacy when networking, consider turning these off. But if you want to encourage faster replies and transparency, keeping them on can be helpful.
Can You Read a LinkedIn Message Without the Sender Knowing?
Yes — if you turn off read receipts before opening the message.
Since read receipts are a two-way setting, disabling yours means the sender won't see a read indicator when you open their message. This is useful if you want to assess a pitch privately before deciding whether to respond.
Here's the sequence:
- Go to Settings & Privacy → Data Privacy → Messaging Experience
- Toggle Read receipts and typing indicators to off
- Open and read the message — the sender sees nothing
- If you choose to reply, you can re-enable read receipts afterward, or leave them off permanently
One thing to keep in mind: turning off read receipts is a full toggle, not message-by-message. It applies to every conversation until you switch it back on.
Can You Mark a LinkedIn Message as Unread?
Yes. If you've opened a message and want to flag it to come back to later, LinkedIn lets you mark it as unread manually.
In your inbox, click the three dots (•••) next to the conversation and select "Mark as unread." The conversation will return to the unread state visually — but this doesn't affect the sender's read receipt. If they had read receipts enabled and you opened the message, their indicator already triggered.
Read receipts tell you who's paying attention, but the message itself is what gets the reply. For a breakdown of what to write, see our guide to LinkedIn outreach that actually books meetings.
Why This Matters (Pros & Cons of Enabling Read Receipts)
Deciding whether to keep read receipts on or off depends on how you like to communicate on LinkedIn. Here are some pros and cons to consider:
✅ Pros of Enabling Read Receipts
- Transparency: You’ll know when your message has been seen, removing some of the guesswork.
- Faster responses: People may feel more inclined to reply quickly once they know you’ve seen their message—and vice versa.
- Better follow-ups: Helps you decide when it’s appropriate to follow up or give the recipient more time.
- Improved networking flow: Encourages real-time, back-and-forth conversations, especially when paired with typing indicators.
❌ Cons of Enabling Read Receipts
- Pressure to reply: Recipients may feel obligated to respond immediately, even if they aren’t ready.
- Reduced privacy: Others will know when you’ve read their messages, which may not always be ideal.
- False assumptions: Just because someone saw your message doesn’t mean they’re ignoring you—they might just be busy.
- Limited functionality: Doesn’t apply to InMail or unaccepted requests, so you may get inconsistent results.
Ultimately, whether you enable read receipts comes down to personal preference—choose what aligns best with your networking and communication style.
Best Practices for Using Read Receipts Strategically
In LinkedIn lead generation process, read receipts aren’t just about knowing whether someone saw your message—they can be used strategically to improve your outreach and networking efforts.
Here’s how:
- Leverage read receipts for better timing: If you see that a recipient has read your message but hasn’t replied, wait a reasonable amount of time before sending a follow-up. This helps you reach out at the right moment instead of pushing too soon.
- Keep your messages concise and focused: Since you’ll know when someone has seen your note, make sure each message is short and includes just one clear ask. This increases the chances of a meaningful response.
- Use read data to refine sales sequences: In sales or prospecting, treat read receipts as a signal. If a prospect reads your first message but doesn't reply, use that signal to adjust your approach before sending a follow-up — or before writing your next round of LinkedIn connection messages.
- Balance persistence with respect: Just because someone read your message doesn’t mean they’re ignoring you. Use read receipts as a guide, but don’t bombard them with repeated messages.
When used thoughtfully, read receipts can help you align your timing with your recipient's engagement level — a small but meaningful edge in any LinkedIn outreach strategy.
If you're running outreach at volume, read receipt data becomes even more valuable — see our guide to LinkedIn messaging at scale for how to manage this systematically.
Conclusion
In conclusion, knowing whether a LinkedIn message has been read or not is essential for effective communication and follow-up.
By following the steps outlined above, you can easily check the status of your messages and stay on top of your networking and social selling efforts.
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