Delivery & Read Receipts

Mark messages as delivered, read, or unread and receive real-time receipt events using the CometChat iOS SDK.

AI Integration Quick Reference

Method	Description
markAsDelivered(baseMessage:)	Mark a message as delivered
markAsRead(baseMessage:)	Mark a message as read
markConversationAsDelivered(conversationWithId:receiverType:)	Mark entire conversation as delivered
markConversationAsRead(conversationWithId:receiverType:)	Mark entire conversation as read
markMessageAsUnread(baseMessage:receiverType:)	Mark a message as unread
getMessageReceipts(_:)	Get delivery/read receipts for a message

// Mark as delivered/read (pass message object)
CometChat.markAsDelivered(baseMessage: baseMessage)
CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage: baseMessage)

// Mark entire conversation
CometChat.markConversationAsRead(conversationWithId: uid, receiverType: .user) { _ in } onError: { _ in }

// Listen for receipt events (CometChatMessageDelegate)
func onMessagesDelivered(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }
func onMessagesRead(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }
func onMessagesDeliveredToAll(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }  // Groups only
func onMessagesReadByAll(receipt: MessageReceipt) { }        // Groups only

Delivery and read receipts track whether messages have been delivered to and read by recipients.

Mark as Delivered

Use markAsDelivered() to mark messages as delivered. You can pass either a message object or individual parameters.

Using Message Object

Swift

CometChat.markAsDelivered(baseMessage: baseMessage, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsDelivered Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsDelivered error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Objective-C

[CometChat markAsDeliveredWithBaseMessage:baseMessage onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

Using Parameters

Parameter	Description
messageId	ID of the message to mark as delivered
receiverId	For user chats: sender’s UID. For groups: group GUID
receiverType	.user or .group
messageSender	UID of the message sender

Swift (User)

var messageId = 123
var receiverId = "cometchat-uid-2"
var senderId = "cometchat-uid-1"

CometChat.markAsDelivered(messageId: messageId, receiverId: receiverId, receiverType: .user, messageSender: senderId, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsDelivered Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsDelivered error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Swift (Group)

var messageId = 123
var receiverId = "cometchat-uid-2"
var senderId = "cometchat-uid-1"

CometChat.markAsDelivered(messageId: messageId, receiverId: receiverId, receiverType: .group, messageSender: senderId, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsDelivered Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsDelivered error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Objective-C (User)

int messageId = 123;
NSString *receiverId = @"cometchat-uid-2";
NSString *senderId = @"cometchat-uid-1";

[CometChat markAsDeliveredWithMessageId:messageId receiverId:receiverId receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser messageSender:senderId onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

Objective-C (Group)

int messageId = 123;
NSString *receiverId = @"cometchat-uid-2";
NSString *senderId = @"cometchat-uid-1";

[CometChat markAsDeliveredWithMessageId:messageId receiverId:receiverId receiverType:ReceiverTypeGroup messageSender:senderId onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsDelivered error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

This method marks all messages before the specified messageId for the conversation with receiverId and receiverType as delivered.

Starting v3, messages are not marked delivered internally by the SDK. You must use markAsDelivered() explicitly.

Mark Conversation as Delivered

Use markConversationAsDelivered() to mark all messages in a conversation as delivered.

Swift (User)

CometChat.markConversationAsDelivered(conversationWithId: (conversation.conversationWith as? User)?.uid, receiverType: .user) { message in
    print(message)
} onError: { error in
    print(error.errorDescription)
}

Swift (Group)

CometChat.markConversationAsDelivered(conversationWithId: (conversation.conversationWith as? Group)?.guid, receiverType: .group) { message in
    print(message)
} onError: { error in
    print(error.errorDescription)
}

Mark as Read

Use markAsRead() to mark messages as read. You can pass either a message object or individual parameters.

Using Message Object

Swift

CometChat.markAsRead(baseMessage: baseMessage, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsRead Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsRead error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Objective-C

[CometChat markAsReadWithBaseMessage:baseMessage onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsRead Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsRead error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

Using Parameters

Swift (User)

var messageId = 123
var receiverId = "cometchat-uid-2"
var senderId = "cometchat-uid-1"

CometChat.markAsRead(messageId: messageId, receiverId: receiverId, receiverType: .user, messageSender: senderId, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsRead Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsRead error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Swift (Group)

var messageId = 123
var receiverId = "cometchat-uid-2"
var senderId = "cometchat-uid-1"

CometChat.markAsRead(messageId: messageId, receiverId: receiverId, receiverType: .group, messageSender: senderId, onSuccess: {
    print("markAsRead Success")
}, onError: { error in
    print("markAsRead error: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
})

Objective-C (User)

int messageId = 123;
NSString *receiverId = @"abc";

[CometChat markAsReadWithMessageId:messageId receiverId:receiverId receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsRead Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsRead error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

Objective-C (Group)

int messageId = 123;
NSString *receiverId = @"abc";

[CometChat markAsReadWithMessageId:messageId receiverId:receiverId receiverType:ReceiverTypeGroup onSuccess:^{
    NSLog(@"markAsRead Success");
} onError:^(CometChatException *error){
    NSLog(@"markAsRead error: %@", [error errorDescription]);
}];

Mark Conversation as Read

Use markConversationAsRead() to mark all messages in a conversation as read.

Swift (User)

CometChat.markConversationAsRead(conversationWithId: (conversation.conversationWith as? User)?.uid, receiverType: .user) { message in
    print(message)
} onError: { error in
    print(error.errorDescription)
}

Swift (Group)

CometChat.markConversationAsRead(conversationWithId: (conversation.conversationWith as? Group)?.guid, receiverType: .group) { message in
    print(message)
} onError: { error in
    print(error.errorDescription)
}

Real-Time Receipt Events

Implement CometChatMessageDelegate to receive delivery and read receipt events.

Callback	Description
onMessagesDelivered	Message delivered to a user
onMessagesRead	Message read by a user
onMessagesDeliveredToAll	Group message delivered to all members
onMessagesReadByAll	Group message read by all members

Swift

func onMessagesRead(receipt: MessageReceipt) {
    print("onMessagesRead \(receipt.stringValue())")
}

func onMessagesDelivered(receipt: MessageReceipt) {
    print("onMessagesDelivered \(receipt.stringValue())")
}

func onMessagesDeliveredToAll(receipt: MessageReceipt) {
    print("onMessagesDeliveredToAll \(receipt.stringValue())")
}

func onMessagesReadByAll(receipt: MessageReceipt) {
    print("onMessagesReadByAll \(receipt.stringValue())")
}

Objective-C

-(void)onMessagesDeliveredWithReceipt:(MessageReceipt *)receipt {
    NSLog(@"onMessagesDeliveredWithReceipt %@", receipt.stringValue);
}

-(void)onMessagesReadWithReceipt:(MessageReceipt *)receipt {
    NSLog(@"onMessagesReadWithReceipt %@", receipt.stringValue);
}

-(void)onMessagesDeliveredToAll:(MessageReceipt *)receipt {
    NSLog(@"onMessagesDeliveredToAll %@", receipt.stringValue);
}

-(void)onMessagesReadByAll:(MessageReceipt *)receipt {
    NSLog(@"onMessagesReadByAll %@", receipt.stringValue);
}

You will receive events in the form of MessageReceipt objects:

Parameter	Information
messageId	The Id of the message prior to which all messages for that conversation have been marked as read.
sender	User object containing the details of the user who 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	Timestamp when the message was delivered. Only present if receiptType is delivered.
readAt	Timestamp when the message was read. Only present when receiptType is read.

The following features require Enhanced Messaging Status to be enabled for your app:

• onMessagesDeliveredToAll event
• onMessagesReadByAll event
• deliveredAt field in group messages
• readAt field in group messages
• markMessageAsUnread method

Get Receipt History

Use getMessageReceipts() to fetch delivery and read receipts for a specific message. Useful for group messages to see which members have received/read the message.

Swift

var messageId = 10101

CometChat.getMessageReceipts(messageId, onSuccess: { receipt in
    print("getMessageReceipt \(receipt)")
}) { error in
    print(error?.errorDescription ?? "")
}

Objective-C

int messageId = 10101;

[CometChat getMessageReceipts:messageId onSuccess:^(NSArray<MessageReceipt *> * _Nonnull receipt) {
    NSLog(@"getMessageReceipts %@", receipt);
} onError:^(CometChatException * _Nullable error) {
    NSLog(@"CometChatException %@", error.errorDescription);
}];

Returns an array of MessageReceipt objects.

Missed Receipts

When fetching messages, each message object includes deliveredAt and readAt timestamps indicating when the message was delivered and read.

For group messages, use getMessageReceipts() to fetch individual member delivery and read status.

Mark as Unread

Use markMessageAsUnread() to mark a message as unread. This is useful for “mark as unread” functionality in conversation lists.

Swift (User)

CometChat.markMessageAsUnread(baseMessage: message, receiverType: .user) { conversation in
    print(conversation)
    print(conversation.unreadMessageCount)
} onError: { error in
    print(error?.errorDescription ?? "")
}

Swift (Group)

CometChat.markMessageAsUnread(baseMessage: message, receiverType: .group) { conversation in
    print(conversation)
    print(conversation.unreadMessageCount)
} onError: { error in
    print(error?.errorDescription ?? "")
}

You cannot mark your own messages as unread. This method only works for messages received from other users.

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Next Steps

Typing Indicators

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Receive Messages

Listen for incoming messages in real time

Retrieve Conversations

Fetch conversation list with unread counts

All Real-Time Listeners

Complete reference for all SDK event listeners