Signal-android: Override read-status feature for specific conversations

[entonjackson]

I have:

• [x] searched open and closed issues for duplicates
• [x] read https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Android/wiki/Submitting-useful-bug-reports

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Feature request description

It would be nice to have an option for specific conversations (person or group conversation) to override the global allow-read-status-option.

[sigenc]

This would be awesome if we could set per contact read Status. Like we can set colour and notification Sound.

[RiseT]

The master switch (when disabled) should override the settings for all individual conversations, not the other way around.
That way, users who don't want to use read receipts at all can be sure (and check easily) that this feature is disabled for good.

I. e. toggling the "master switch" to "off" greys out the option in all recipient preferences

[paride]

While I also wanted this feature, I now developed a point against it. While we all agree read receipts are useful, they have a downside: they are too often used to as form of control on the receiver side, and as a way to put pressure. This is often social pressure (I know you have read, and now I expect you to answer), but it's common to see people getting this kind of pressure from their employers, even outside the working hours. Note how people developed a set of tricks to read WhatsApp messages without sending the read receipt.

Have this good read: https://journal.thriveglobal.com/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3.

Now, having a global toggle allows me to state my decision of turning off read receipts as a relationship between me and the rest of the world. If this toggle is per-user, then the decision is between me and you, and it could be way more difficult to stay with it.

The global toggle could be the right compromise, but I have another idea: I'd like to have a manual way (tap somewhere) to acknowledge that I've read the messages by sending the receipt. This would make the read receipts feature even more meaningful: if you see the blue ticks it means that I've actually read your message. I have a name for this: the "Roger button" (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_procedure).

[ghost]

@paride

"I'd like to have a manual way"

is already tracked https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Android/issues/4821

BTW: :+1: for "Manual read receipts" since 4821 is locked

[Meteor0id]

Paride makes a very fair argument against per user settings. But there is another solution to avoid the case he argues against.
By setting the read reiceipt off by default for each new conversation, the user has to activly decide he is ok with shareing that information to the other side. There will be noone asking why you turned it off. There might be people requesting you to turn it on, but in that case one might aswell send a message "when you read this send me a message back to confirm" which would exert the same social pressure, but clearly break etiquette.
So I do see a solution for it. Just always force the setting off by default on a new conversation.

As for paride's idea of a roger button;
Intially this seemed even better, as it is per message and indead actually confirms the real action of visually seeing and activly interacting with the message.
However this could lead to situations where one did not realise the other side desires confirmation. Users would not usually "roger" a message as it will only seem weird. This could lead to users having to reauest "please roger if you read this", partially defeating the purpose of a conveinience feature.
"Roger" is useful in situations where confirmation is expected as part of the conversation, such as air-traffic jargon, or millitairy jargon, but loses it conveignience when it goes agains social standards and is used inconsequently.

My opinion:

• Do allow per user settings
• Global setting is off by default, and thus all new conversations inhearit off by default.

[Meteor0id]

RiseT also makes a valid point. I would suggest a tree state slider for the global setting and also a tree state slider for the per conversation/per user setting.

Global read receipt setting:

1. Force off on all conversations, 2. Off by default, 3. On by default

Per conversation/per user read receipt setting:

1. always on for this conversation, 2. inherit from global setting(and display what the global setting is!), 3. always off for this conversation.

There is another matter to discuss, which is relevant in the case of group conversations.
Should this by per USER or per CONVERSATION?

I will go over my own ticket #7435 to see if we can merge the ideas of these issues, since mine is mostly a duplicate of this one.

[Meteor0id]

In my own ticked (now marked duplicate) I also suggested the following details:

• It is not nessessary for both sides to turn on the confirmations, but only the side which did turn them on, will send them.
• The other side can receive the confirmations regardless of his own setting. There is no peer pressure.

I now drop those details! After some more thought, I can see how this would lead to distrust in the other side of the conversation. "He can see my confirmations, and I cannot see his, so I will turn mine off."

[automated-signal]

GitHub Issue Cleanup:
See #7598 for more information.