Delivery & Read Receipts

Track message delivery and read status using the Android SDK

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

// Mark messages as delivered
CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.id, message.receiverUid, 
    CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid)

// Mark messages as read
CometChat.markAsRead(message.id, message.sender.uid,
    CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid)

// Listen for receipt events
CometChat.addMessageListener("LISTENER_ID", object : MessageListener() {
    override fun onMessagesDelivered(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }
    override fun onMessagesRead(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }
})

Available via: SDK | REST API | UI Kits

Mark Messages as Delivered

How do I inform the sender that I’ve received a message?

You can mark the messages for a particular conversation as read using the markAsDelivered() method. This method takes the following parameters as input:

Parameter	Information
messageId	The ID of the message above which all the messages for a particular conversation are to be marked as read.
receiverId	In case of one to one conversation message’s sender UID will be the receipt’s receiver Id. In case of group conversation message’s receiver Id will be the receipt’s receiver Id.
receiverType	Type of the receiver. Could be either of the two values (user/group).
senderId	The UID of the sender of the message.

Messages for both user & group conversations can be marked as read using this method.

Ideally, you would like to mark all the messages as delivered for any conversation when the user opens the chat window for that conversation. This includes two scenarios:

1. When the list of messages for the conversation is fetched: In this case you need to obtain the last message in the list of messages and pass the message ID of that message to the markAsDelivered() method.
2. When the user is on the chat window and a real-time message is received: In this case you need to obtain the message ID of the message and pass it to the markAsDelivered() method.

Java (User)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.getId(), message.getReceiverUid(), CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.getSender().getUid());

Kotlin (User)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.id, message.receiverUid, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid)

Java (Group)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.getId(), message.getReceiverUid(), CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.getSender().getUid());

Kotlin (Group)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.id, message.receiverUid, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.sender.uid)

This method will mark all the messages before the messageId specified, for the conversation with receiverId and receiverType(user/group) as read.

In case you would like to be notified of an error if the receipts fail to go through you can use markAsDelivered() method with the callbacks as shown below:

Java (User)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.getId(), receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.getSender().getUid(), new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "Success");
    }

    @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.getMessage());
    }
});

Java (Group)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.getId(), receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.getSender().getUid(), new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "Success");
    }

    @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.getMessage());
    }
});  

Kotlin (User)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.id, receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "Success")
    }

    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.message)
    }
})

Kotlin (Group)

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message.id, receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.sender.uid, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "Success")
    }

    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.message)
    }
})

Another option the CometChat SDK provides is to pass the entire message object to the markAsDelivered() method.

Java

CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage)

Kotlin

CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage)

In case you would like to be notified of an error if the receipts fail to go through you can use markAsDelivered() method with the callbacks as shown below:

Java

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message, new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "success");
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.getMessage());
  }
});

Kotlin

CometChat.markAsDelivered(message, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + "success")
    }

    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsDelivered : " + e.message)
    }
})

Starting v3, the messages will not be marked delivered internally by the SDK. You will have to use the markAsDelivered() method. You will either have to use one of the above method signatures to mark the messages as delivered.

Mark Messages as Read

How do I inform the sender I’ve read a message?

You can mark the messages for a particular conversation as read using the markAsRead() method. This method takes the following parameters as input:

Parameter	Information
messageId	The ID of the message above which all messages for a particular conversation are to be marked as read.
receiverId	In case of one to one conversation message’s sender UID will be the receipt’s receiver Id. In case of group conversation message’s receiver Id will be the receipts’s receiver Id
receiverType	Type of the receiver. Could be either of the two values (user/group). The possible values are: 1. CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER 2. CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP
senderId	The UID of the sender of the message

Messages for both user and group conversations can be marked as read using this method.

Ideally, you should mark all the messages as read for any conversation when the user opens the chat window for that conversation. This includes two scenarios:

1. When the list of messages for the conversation is fetched: In this case you need to obtain the last message in the list of messages and pass the message ID of that message to the markAsRead() method.
2. When the user is on the chat window and a real-time message is received: In this case you need to obtain the message ID of the message and pass it to the markAsRead() method

Java (User Conversation)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.getId(),message.getSender().getUid(),CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER,message.getSender().getUid());

Kotlin (User Conversation)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.id, message.sender.uid, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid)

Java (Group Conversation)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.getId(), message.getReceiverUID(), CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP,message.getSender().getUid())

Kotlin (Group Conversation)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.id, message.receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.sender.uid)

This method will mark all the messages before the messageId specified, for the conversation with receiverId and receiverType (user/group) as read.

In case you would like to be notified of an error if the receipts fail to go through you can use the markAsRead() method with the callbacks as shown below:

Java (User)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.getId(), message.getSender().getUid(),CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.getSender().getUid(), new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "Success");
  }
  
  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.getMessage());
  }
});

Java (Group)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.getId(), message.getRecieverUID(), CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.getSender().getUid(), new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "Success");
  }
  
  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.getMessage());
  }
});

Kotlin (User)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.id, message.sender.uid, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER, message.sender.uid, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "Success")
    }
    
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.message)
    }
  }
)

Kotlin (Group)

CometChat.markAsRead(message.id, message.receiverUID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP, message.sender.uid, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "Success")
    }
    
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.message)
    }
  }
)

Another option the CometChat SDK provides is to pass the entire message object to the markAsRead() method.

Java

CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage) 

Kotlin

CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage)

In case you would like to be notified of an error if the receipts fail to go through you can use the markAsRead() method with the callbacks as shown below:

Java

CometChat.markAsRead(message, new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "success");
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.getMessage());
  }
});

Kotlin

CometChat.markAsRead(message, object : CallbackListener<Void?>() {
  override fun onSuccess(unused: Void?) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + "success")
  }
  
  override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
    Log.e(TAG, "markAsRead : " + e.message)
  }
})

Starting v3, the markAsRead() method working with v2.x is deprecated and will not work. You will either have to use one of the above method signatures to mark the messages as read.

Mark Messages as Unread

The Mark as Unread feature allows users to designate specific messages or conversations as unread, even if they have been previously viewed.

This feature is valuable for users who want to revisit and respond to important messages or conversations later, ensuring they don’t forget or overlook them.

In other words, how I can mark a message as unread?

You can mark the messages for a particular conversation as unread using the markAsUnread() method. This method takes the below parameters as input:

Parameter	Information
message	To mark a message as unread, pass a non-null BaseMessage instance to the markAsUnread() function. All messages below that message in the conversation will contribute to the unread messages count. Example: When User B sends User A a total of 10 messages, and User A invokes the markAsUnread() method on the fifth message, all messages located below the fifth message within the conversation list will be designated as unread. This results in a notification indicating there are 5 unread messages in the conversation list.
listener	The callback listener that will be called on success or error. This should be a non-null CallbackListener instance.

Java (User)

BaseMessage message = messageInstance;

CometChat.markAsUnread(message, new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onSuccess");
    }

    @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onError: " + e);
    }
});

Kotlin (User)

val message: BaseMessage = messageInstance

CometChat.markAsUnread(message, object : CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onSuccess")
    }

    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onError: $e")
    }
})

Java (Group)

BaseMessage message = messageInstance;

CometChat.markAsUnread(message, new CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void unused) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onSuccess");
    }

    @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onError: " + e);
    }
});

Kotlin (Group)

val message: BaseMessage = messageInstance

CometChat.markAsUnread(message, object : CometChat.CallbackListener<Void>() {
    override fun onSuccess(unused: Void) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onSuccess")
    }

    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
        Log.e("TAG", "markAsUnread: onError: $e")
    }
})

Receive Delivery & Read Receipts

How do I know when a message I sent has been delivered or read by someone?

Real-time events

1. onMessagesDelivered() - This event is triggered when a message is delivered to a user.
2. onMessagesRead() - This event is triggered when a message is read by a user.
3. onMessagesDeliveredToAll() - This event is triggered when a group message is delivered to all members of the group. This event is only for Group conversations.
4. onMessagesReadByAll() - This event is triggered when a group message is read by all members of the group. This event is only for Group conversations.

Java

CometChat.addMessageListener("Listener 1", new CometChat.MessageListener() {
  @Override
  public void onMessagesDelivered(MessageReceipt messageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesDelivered: " + messageReceipt.toString());
  }
  
  @Override
  public void onMessagesRead(MessageReceipt messageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesRead: " + messageReceipt.toString());
  }

  @Override
  public void onMessagesDeliveredToAll(MessageReceipt messageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesDeliveredToAll: " + messageReceipt.toString());
  }

  @Override
  public void onMessagesReadByAll(MessageReceipt messageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesReadByAll: " + messageReceipt.toString());
  }
});

Kotlin

CometChat.addMessageListener("Listener 1", object : MessageListener() {
  override fun onMessagesDelivered(messageReceipt: MessageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesDelivered: $messageReceipt")
  }

  override fun onMessagesRead(messageReceipt: MessageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesRead: $messageReceipt")
  }
  
  override fun onMessagesDeliveredToAll(messageReceipt: MessageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesDeliveredToAll: $messageReceipt")
  }
  
  override fun onMessagesReadByAll(messageReceipt: MessageReceipt) {
    Log.e(TAG, "onMessagesReadByAll: $messageReceipt")
  }
})

You will receive events in the form of MessageReceipt objects. The message receipt contains the following parameters:

Parameter	Information
messageId	The Id of the message prior to which all the messages for that particular conversation have been marked as read.
sender	User object containing the details of the user who has marked the message as read. System User for deliveredToAll & readByAll events.
receiverId	Id of the receiver whose conversation has been marked as read.
receiverType	type of the receiver (user/group)
receiptType	Type of the receipt (read/delivered)
deliveredAt	The timestamp of the time when the message was delivered. This will only be present if the receiptType is delivered.
readAt	The timestamp of the time when the message was read. This will only be present when the receiptType is read.

Missed Receipts

You will receive message receipts when you load offline messages. While fetching messages in bulk, the message object will have two fields i.e. deliveredAt and readAt which hold the timestamp for the time the message was delivered and read respectively. Using these two variables, the delivery and read status for a message can be obtained.

However, for a group message, if you wish to fetch the deliveredAt and readAt fields of individual member of the group you can use the below-described method.

Receipt History for a Single Message

To fetch the message receipts, you can use the getMessageReceipts() method.

Java

private int messageId = 10101;

CometChat.getMessageReceipts(messageId, new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<MessageReceipt>>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(List<MessageReceipt> messageReceipts) {
      // Handle message receipts
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    // Handle error
  }
});

Kotlin

val messageId:Int=10101

CometChat.getMessageReceipts(messageId, object : CallbackListener<List<MessageReceipt?>?>() {
  override fun onSuccess(messageReceipts: List<MessageReceipt?>?) {
    // Handle message receipts
  }

  override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
    // Handle error
  }
})

You will receive a list of MessageReceipt objects in the onSuccess() method.

The following features will be available only if the Enhanced Messaging Status feature is enabled for your app.

• onMessagesDeliveredToAll event,
• onMessagesReadByAll event,
• deliveredAt field in a group message,
• readAt field in a group message.
• markAsUnread method.

Always remove message listeners when they’re no longer needed (e.g., in onDestroy() or when navigating away). Failing to remove listeners can cause memory leaks and duplicate event handling.

Best Practices

Mark as Delivered on Message Fetch

Call markAsDelivered() when fetching messages and when receiving real-time messages to ensure senders know their messages were received.

Mark as Read When Visible

Call markAsRead() only when messages are actually visible to the user (e.g., when chat window is open and focused) for accurate read status.

Use Message Object Overload

Use markAsDelivered(message) and markAsRead(message) overloads for simpler code when you have the message object available.

Handle Receipt Events for UI Updates

Listen for receipt events to update your UI with delivery/read indicators (checkmarks) in real-time.

Enable Enhanced Messaging Status

Enable “Enhanced Messaging Status” in Dashboard for group message receipts and advanced features like markAsUnread.

Troubleshooting

Receipts Not Sending

Symptom: markAsDelivered() or markAsRead() fails silently.

Cause: User not logged in, or incorrect parameters provided.

Solution: Verify user is logged in using CometChat.getLoggedInUser(). Use the callback version of methods to catch errors.

Group Receipts Not Working

Symptom: onMessagesDeliveredToAll or onMessagesReadByAll not triggered.

Cause: “Enhanced Messaging Status” feature not enabled in Dashboard.

Solution: Enable the feature in CometChat Dashboard under your app settings.

Receipt Events Not Received

Symptom: Receipt listener methods not being called.

Cause: Message listener not registered or removed prematurely.

Solution: Ensure addMessageListener() is called before messages are sent/received. Don’t remove listeners while still needed.

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Next Steps

Typing Indicators

Show when users are typing

Receive Messages

Handle incoming messages with listeners

Retrieve Conversations

Fetch conversation list with unread counts

Real-Time Listeners

Learn more about event listeners