What happens when a user turns off read receipts (last seen) on WhatsApp? Can they still check any individual messages? Or does it only apply after opening the app again?

When a user turns off read receipts, including the "last seen" timestamp, on WhatsApp, it affects the visibility of certain information for other users. Specifically, turning off read receipts means that other users won't be able to see when you've read their messages or when you were last active on WhatsApp. However, it doesn't prevent you from checking individual messages or receiving new messages in the app.

The disabling of read receipts doesn't affect your ability to access or read incoming messages within WhatsApp. You can still open the app, view individual messages, and engage in conversations as usual. The primary change is that other users won't receive a confirmation or notification indicating that you've read their messages or indicating your last seen time.

It's important to note that turning off read receipts doesn't prevent WhatsApp from delivering read receipts to the sender's end for your messages. This means that if you send a message to someone who has read receipts turned off, you might not see when they read your messages, but they will still receive your messages and can read them at their convenience without providing read confirmation to you.

In essence, the disabling of read receipts in WhatsApp allows users to maintain a level of privacy regarding their online status and message read confirmations while still being able to access and read individual messages within the app.