How to Read Messenger Messages without Seen

Elsa Updated on Apr 11, 2025 Filed to: Parent Control

A read receipt on Facebook Messenger can promote communication transparency, but some people aren’t ready to respond, prefer not to engage immediately, or need more time to gather information without the sender knowing they’ve seen the message.

So, how to read Messenger messages without seen? This post will walk you through 7 workable ways to read a Facebook message without being seen. Let's get into the essentials!

Available On	Working Solutions
Android, iOS	Method 1: Disable Read Receipts on Messenger...Full Steps
	Method 2: Preview Messages from Notifications...Full Steps
	Method 3: Restrict and Unrestrict the Sender...Full Steps
Android Only	Method 4: Activate the Airplane Mode...Full Steps
iOS Only	Method 5: Long Press to View...Full Steps
Web for PC	Method 6: Use Facebook Web Version...Full Steps
Web for PC	Method 7: Use a Chrome Extension...Full Steps

(These methods are checked and tested by Elsa in 2024.)

Method 1. Disable Read Receipts on Messenger

Facebook allows users to turn off the read receipts for all chats or for a specific chat. Therefore, the key to reading messages without being seen is to turn off read receipts on Facebook Messenger.

To turn off read receipts for all chats on Messenger:

1.On Messenger, tap the three lines in the top-left corner and go to "Settings."

2.Select "Privacy & safety", then "Read receipts."

3.Toggle off the "Show read receipts" switch.

To turn off read receipts for specific senders on Messenger:

1.Tap into the chat you want to disable read receipt, and tap on the profile image/name on the upper left.

2.Scroll down and tap ‘Read receipts’ under the ‘Privacy & support’ section. Then toggle off ‘Show read receipts’.

By doing so, you can read Messenger messages without seen for all chats or specific chats. However, don’t forget to turn on read receipts again when you are ready to instantly engage with your friends.

Note: When you turn off the Messenger read receipts, people won’t be able to see when you have read their messages, and you won’t be able to know when they’ve read the messages you send, either. However, they will still be able to see if you’ve read disappearing messages.

Method 2. Preview Messages from Notifications

This is one of the most straightforward ways to read messages in Messenger without opening it. Anyone who uses Facebook on Android or iPhone gets a notification whenever they receive a message. Therefore, you can read a portion of the message from that notification without the sender knowing.

Now, just swipe down from the top of your phone screen to access the Notification panel and read the Facebook messages.

NOTE: If you tap on the message from the notification panel, it will open the Messenger app and send a seen status to the sender, so ensure not to tap on that message accidentally.

You can also try parenting apps such as AirDroid Parental Control, which syncs and saves notifications, helping you read Facebook messages without seen.

Try It Free

This method works for most short messages. However, if it’s a long message, some devices only show part of the message (such as iPhone 11 I’m using), but some devices can still see the whole message from the notification panel (such as Samsung Galaxy S20+ I’m using).

Therefore, if your smartphone shows the full version of the long text message, you are lucky to read it without seen, just from the notification panel.

Method 3. Restrict and Unrestrict the Sender

To see messages in Messenger without seen, you can utilize the Restrict feature of Messenger. Here's how you can do so:

Step 1.Restrict the New Chat
On Messenger, long press the new chat and select "Restrict." iPhone users need to restrict the chat by swiping left across the targeted chat.

Step 2.Read the New Messages without Seen
1. Tap the three lines and go to "Settings."
2. Go to "Privacy & safety," then "Restricted accounts."

3. Tap the account you restricted.
4. Now, you can read all messages from this user. Meanwhile, the sender won't see the "Seen" status.

Step 3.Unrestrict the Chat
After this, don't forget to click on "UNRESTRICT", otherwise, you can't find and receive this sender's messages again.

Method 4. Activate the Airplane Mode

When there is no internet connection, you can freely view Messenger without seen. You only have to turn on the Airplane mode of your device and then clear the cache of Messenger. This method works on Android devices only.

Now, I'll guide you step-by-step:

1.Enable the Airplane mode from the Quick Settings.
2.Open and read messages in Messenger.
3.Back to the home screen and long press the Messenger app.
4.Tap "App info" and then head to "Storage."
5.Press "Clear data" and "Clear cache."

After this, when you return to Messenger, the message you read will still be "unread" on the sender's chat view.

Note: It’s very crucial to clear app data and cache before turning off Airplane mode. If you just mark the message as unread but do not clear app data and cache, it will send the read receipts after getting the internet connection.

Method 5. Long Press to View

If you are an iOS user, do you know you can preview the chat window by long-pressing the conversion in Messenger? By using this trick, you can see messages in Messenger without opening it, and the sender won't get notified of you reading the messages. Here's how to read Messenger messages without seen on iPhone:

1.Tap and hold the chat with a new message received.
2.On the pop-up window, you can view the message without opening it.

Note: This method allows you to read Messenger messages without seen on iPhone, but only for the most recent messages. If there are more messages beyond the preview panel, it won’t show up and you can’t scroll up or down to read more.

Method 6: Read Messages without Seen on Facebook Web

The Facebook web version also allows you to send and receive messages with friends, and there is a trick that lets you to read Facebook messages without seen using the web version, even if you scroll up and down all the messages.

1.Log into facebook.com on your computer, and stay still on the home page.
2.When you receive a new message, a chat window will pop up at the bottom right.

3.Please DO NOT click the chat window, and just read the messages. You can also scroll up and down if there are multiple messages, and this won’t send the seen status to the sender.

Note: Clicking the message bar, the sender’s name, the video/image/stick/GIFL/Like button will trigger the seen status, but scrolling up and down, clicking the minimize chat button or close chat button won’t send the read receipts.

Method 7. Use a Chrome Extension

If you prefer using Facebook or Messenger from your browser, then you're in luck! Web extensions are viable when you want to read messages on Facebook without being seen.

There are several extensions available for this purpose. However, "ESUIT | Un Seen for Facebook" is the most effective one I used. Follow the steps below:

1.Go to "ESUIT" in your Chrome browser.
2.Click "Add to Chrome". After this, it appears on the top right of Chrome.
3.Now, open facebook.com or messenger.com.
4.You can see all received messages without being seen.

Using a browser extension will allow you to read Messenger messages without seen even if you click on the chat window, which means you can click any where on the chat window and it won’t send the read receipts. And still, it will definitely send the read receipts if you reply to that message.

If you are using Firefox, you are out of luck because we have tested several extensions on Firefox such as FB unseen or similar and most of them stop working.

Note: This method only syncs the notifications received after installing the app and setting up. Notifications received before installing won’t be synced.

It will show the full notification even if it’s a long text message. However, if you receive a sticker, gif, or image, you can’t read what it exactly is but just a preview.

Final Thoughts

Now, try it yourself to open Facebook messages without seen. All seven methods are 100% working and proven by me. We have also test other solutions (such as archiving the chat or ignoring the conversation) to read Messenger messages but they don’t work as expected.

For instance, if you choose to archive the chat and read the messages in the archive chat, it will trigger the seen status to the sender in most cases. This is working only if the sender send the message from Facebook web, and you archive and read the message on your mobile phone.

If you encounter any questions when trying these ways, please leave your comment, and I'll be glad to help you out! If you're a parent, don't hesitate to try AirDroid Parental Control, which helps you monitor your child's messages with ease.

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Elsa

Elsa has worked on a number of iOS & Android solutions, she can always find her way around almost any application. She is an accomplished, skilled and versatile writer with more than 7 years of technical article writing experience.

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