Be prepared to rethink many a text conversation…
Life has been so much more stressful since the iPhone and Facebook Messenger ‘typing indicator bubbles’ came along.
You text someone. You wait for their response. The little bubble with three dots indicates they are writing back. You stare at the bubble. And stare. And stare. And then it disappears.
What happened? Where did they go? Did they pass out while texting? Did their thumbs fall off? GAHHHHHH!
Or perhaps you are conscious of how long it is taking you to compose the perfect cute message? Or perhaps you needed to go to the dictionary app to check if you are spelling something write right?
It’s okay. The investigative team at Slate.com have experiemented, and given us the exact reassurance we needed.
Prepare for a bubble of enlightenment.
Firstly, iPhones.
When Person B begins replying to a text, Person A’s phone shows the bubbles immediately. Person B has 60 seconds. After those 60 seconds, the bubbles will disappear, even if they are still typing. The phone gets impatient, apparently. To Person A, it may look like Person B has fainted/given up/met someone else, but they may actually be still typing.
More on phones: You can turn off the ‘read’ receipt.
Top Comments
I'm more bothered by the FB Messenger 'seen at'. What if I don't want them to know I have read it and am now just ignoring them/trying to sleep
This doesnt happen on my iPhone so it must be on the 'too smart for their own good' more recent ones.
It's only if you have the message still open ie waiting for a reply. I've had it on everyone iPhone I've ever had not just the newer ones.
Weird. I have txt conversations with family in Vic all the time and have never seen it. I wonder if it can be accidentally de-activated.
It's also only for iMessage, not regular texts