WhatsApp trick to read messages without opening the chat and showing that you are “online”

Sometimes we receive a WhatsApp message and want to read it without the sender knowing we’ve seen it or without them seeing us online. It can be stressful to receive a message and feel like you have to respond immediately because the sender can see that you’re online. While WhatsApp offers some options to change these settings, doing so can mean sacrificing other benefits. For example, if you turn off the read receipts that appear when you’ve read a message, you won’t be able to see if other people have read your messages.

However, there is a way to avoid these configuration issues and protect your privacy without installing an additional app to take advantage of certain features.

How to read WhatsApp without opening the app or appearing “online”

There are several tricks, but our favorite is the Widget. This method is available on any mobile phone and is extremely simple to apply. Hold the home screen of your smartphone and the option to add a Widget will appear. This option may vary depending on the model, but it is available on all phones. Search for the WhatsApp widget and add it to your home or lock screen.

Once added, the widget displays the number of unread messages and allows you to scroll through them. This action does not mark messages as read or indicate that you are online. However, if you click on a message while scrolling, the chat will openrevealing your presence.