Gmail comes with numerous useful features and options to make things convenient for users. One of the top features provided by Gmail to the users is the option of knowing whether an email sent by him or her has been read by the recipient or not. If you were not aware of these options which to get Gmail to read receipt without letting the recipient know, below is the workaround that you will need to follow. However, it is to be noted that the read receipt feature is only available if you are using Gmail for school or work configured by an administrator. In case you are using a gmail.com account, unfortunately, the read receipts option will not work for you. Now, to know when an email you sent was opened by the recipient, you can request a read receipt by following the below-mentioned steps.
Guide to Request Gmail Read Receipt without Recipient Knowing
NOTE: You will be provided a read received by Gmail as an email. It will include the time and date when your email was opened by the recipient.
To Request a Read Receipt
- Firstly, you will need to open a web browser on your computer and go to your Gmail account. Make sure to sign into your Gmail account if you aren’t already.
- Once you have opened your Gmail account, you will need to click or tap on the Compose button. As you will press this option, it will open an email composition box on your screen.
- In the email composition box, you will simply need to compose your email as usual you do.
- Once you are done composing the email you wish to send to the recipient, you will need to select the More option located in the lower-right section.
- From the menu that will expand on your screen, you will need to select the Request read receipt option.
- After that, you will simply need to send your message.
NOTE: When you will receive a read receipt for any email you send, you will find it in your Inbox folder. However, it is to be noted that therecipient of your email may need to approve the read receipt before you’re notified about it.
Steps to Return a Read Receipt
In case you ever receive an email that requests a read receipt, and your organization wants you to approve it first before they accept it, follow the instructions provided below.
- To begin with, you will first need to launch Gmail on your computer web browser and sign into your account.
- Once you are logged into your Gmail account, you will need to check your email messages as you normally would.
- In case you find an email that notifies you that a sender has requested a read receipt, you will need to select from the following options:
- Click Send receipts option to send the receipt now.
- Click the Not now option to send the receipt later. You will be again prompted to send the receipt the next time you open the email message.
Tip: In case someone requests a read-receipt for the email they sent, however, you don’t see an email message,it means that your receipt was sent automatically.
If The Read Receipts Aren’t Returned
While the read receipts function across most of the email systems, however, if you won’t receive a read, it could be because of the following reasons:
- Your administrator doesn’t allow receipts to people within your organization or to certain people outside your organization.
- You have sent the message to a group mailing list or alias.
- Your recipient might be using an email program that does not synchronize in real-time (for example POP (Post Office Protocol) client that synchronizes only on demand.
- The recipient might have returned a read receipt on an email program through IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and read receipts are not sent automatically.
Do Not Depend on Read Receipts to Verify Delivery of an Email
- It doesn’t always mean that the recipient reads your message when you receive a read receipt.The process of read the receipt depends on the email system that your recipient is using.
- For example, you might have received a read receipt automatically when a person using an IMAP-based email programconsider your message as read but does not open it. On the other hand, some of the non-IMAP mobile email systems may not even return receipts.
So, now as you know how to get Gmail to read receipt without making the recipient knowing, you can follow these steps to get the desired read receipt.