Are you a fan of being able to see if your messages are being read on Slack? Or do you find it intrusive and uncomfortable? Slack read receipts can be a great way to keep track of conversations and ensure that everyone is on the same page, but they can also lead to some uncomfortable situations. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll be exploring the pros and cons of Slack read receipts, so you can decide if they’re right for your team. We’ll cover why read receipts can be useful, how they can lead to miscommunication and how to turn them off. By the end of this guide, you’ll have all the information you need to make an informed decision about whether or not to use Slack read receipts.
Does Slack Have Read Receipts?
Yes, Slack has read receipts. By default, read receipts are turned on for all conversations in a channel or direct message. However, you can choose to turn them off if you don’t want the other person to know that you’ve seen their message.
Why Does Slack Have Read Receipts?
1. To Keep Track Of Who Is Talking
One of the main reasons read receipts are useful is because they help keep track of who is talking in a conversation. If someone is not responding, you can usually assume that they are busy or have not read your message.
2. To Avoid Miscommunication
If someone sends you a message and you don’t see a read receipt, it can be difficult to know if they actually received your message. This can lead to miscommunication and potential misunderstandings.
3. To Avoid Embarrassment
If you send a message and don’t see a read receipt, it can be embarrassing if the other person doesn’t respond. If they do respond, it may look like you didn’t send the message at all or that you didn’t care about their response.
How To Turn Off Slack Read Receipts
Understand What Read Receipts Are
Read receipts and let people know when you’ve read their messages. They’re usually represented by a small, blue checkmark next to the message. While they can be helpful in some situations, they can also feel like an unnecessary burden. If you’re part of an active conversation, you might find yourself overwhelmed by all of the read receipts. If you’re not careful, you might even miss some of them entirely. That’s why so many people prefer to turn off read receipts entirely. If you want to keep track of when your messages are being read, there are a few other options: Send a follow-up message when you don’t respond to a Slack message immediately. This will let the sender know that you’re working on their message, but you just haven’t had time to respond yet. Use mute buttons for channels that you don’t need to be notified about immediately. This lets other people know that you’re not ignoring them, but you don’t need to be notified about their posts right away.
Access Your Profile Settings
First, you’ll need to access your profile settings. To do this, navigate to your profile and click the settings icon in the top-right corner of your screen. You should see a screen that looks something like this once you open your settings. From here, you can adjust your preferences to turn off read receipts. Click the drop-down menu next to “Show Read Receipts” and select “Nobody”. If you want to adjust your notifications settings, click the “Notifications” tab. From here, you can choose exactly how and when you want to be notified about messages on Slack.
Adjust Your Preferences
Next, you can adjust your preferences. Click the “Preferences” tab in your settings. From here, you can choose which channels you want to be notified about. You can also select which apps can send you messages. If you want to turn off read receipts for all channels, click the “Global Preferences” tab. Select the “Read Receipts” option and select “Off” to turn off read receipts entirely.
Disable Read Receipts For Specific Channels
If you want to disable read receipts for specific channels, you can do so from the channel settings. Navigate to the channel in question and click the settings icon in the top-right corner of the channel. From here, you can click the “Notifications” tab to turn off read receipts for that channel. If you want to turn off read receipts for all channels, click the “Global Preferences” tab. Select the “Read Receipts” option and select “Off” to turn off read receipts for all channels.
Set Up Do Not Disturb Mode
If you want to turn off read receipts for all channels, but you want to keep track of messages from specific people, you can set up do not disturb mode. Do not disturb mode allows you to ignore all messages from unimportant sources, while still receiving critical messages from coworkers. To set up do not disturb mode, you’ll first have to create a do not disturb list. To do this, click the “Do Not Disturb” tab in your settings. From here, click the “Add Members” button. You can add contacts to your do not disturb list by typing their name. Once you’ve added people to the list, click the “Do Not Disturb” tab in your settings once again. Select the “Do Not Disturb” option, and select the “From My DND List” option. This will allow you to turn off read receipts from all channels but still receive critical messages from your contacts.
Manage Your Notifications
Managing your notifications allows you to decide when and how you’re notified about messages. You can choose to be notified when someone joins a channel, when someone mentions you, or even when someone types a certain keyword. To manage your notifications, click the “Notifications” tab in your settings. From here, you can adjust the notifications you receive. If you want to be notified when someone joins a channel, click the “When Someone Joins a Channel” option. You can choose to be notified via email or Slack message. If you want to be notified when someone mentions you, click the “When Someone Mentions You” option. You have the same notification options as when someone joins a channel. If you want to be notified when someone types a certain keyword, click the “When Someone Types a Keyword” option. You can choose to be notified via email or Slack message.
Create Custom Notifications
If you want to receive custom notifications for specific keywords, you can do so from the “Notifications” tab in your settings. Click the “Add New Keyword Notification” button. You can choose to be notified via email or Slack message. Once you’ve added a keyword, click the “Edit” button to add a keyword. From here, you can type any word or phrase that you want to be notified about. You can also adjust how often you want to be notified about the keyword.
Set Your Status To Away
If you’re going to be away from the office for a while, you can set your status to away. This will notify your teammates that you’re away from the office, and they won’t see any read receipts once you’ve set your status to away. To set your status to away, click the “Profile” tab in your settings. Then, click the “Away” option. You can select how long you’ll be away from the office, and you can choose to be notified when someone mentions you while you’re away.
Take Advantage Of Keyboard Shortcuts
Finally, you can take advantage of keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow and save you time. By default, Slack allows you to use 13 keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can use Ctrl + S to send a message, Ctrl + C to copy a message, and Alt + Tab to switch between applications. You can also use shortcuts to navigate between channels. For example, if you want to switch between the “#general” and “#random” channels, you can press the “#” key twice.
Pros Of Using Slack Read Receipts
- They can be a helpful way to keep track of conversations.
- They can help avoid miscommunication.
- They can help avoid embarrassing situations.
Cons Of Using Slack Read Receipts
- They can be a source of discomfort.
- They can be a distraction.
- They can be a source of confusion.
Conclusion
Slack read receipts can be a useful feature, but you have to be careful about how you use them. Bad habits like sending out “read at your leisure” messages can turn your team off to the feature and make them less likely to respond to important messages. Be mindful of when you’re sending read receipts and try to avoid letting them turn your team off, and they’ll certainly be a useful tool on your team. That said, it’s worth keeping in mind that you can turn them off at any time if they’re not serving you or your team.
