The grey tick on a LinkedIn message indicates that your message has been successfully sent from your account, but it has not yet been seen or read by the recipient. It basically means your message is still unread by the person you sent it to.
Understanding LinkedIn’s message delivery indicators
On LinkedIn, there are three message status indicators that can appear next to a message you’ve sent to indicate whether it’s been successfully delivered and read:
- Grey tick – Message has been sent but not yet seen by the recipient
- Single blue tick – Message has been successfully delivered and seen by the recipient
- Double blue ticks – Message has been seen and opened by the recipient
So in summary:
- Grey tick = Sent but not yet seen
- Single blue tick = Seen
- Double blue ticks = Opened/Read
The grey tick usually appears immediately after you hit send on a message. It indicates the message has left your outbox. The recipient has not opened LinkedIn and checked their inbox yet.
Once the recipient opens the message, the grey tick turns blue, indicating they’ve seen the message in their inbox. If they actually open and read your message, it becomes two blue ticks.
When and why does the grey tick appear?
A grey tick appears in the following scenarios:
- Right after you send a message – this means your message has been dispatched from your outbox.
- When your connection is offline or has not opened LinkedIn – so your message is not yet delivered.
- When your connection has read your message on mobile but not on desktop yet.
- When your message is pending because your connection’s inbox is full.
So in summary, a grey tick means your message is still in an unread or pending state for the recipient. They have not opened or read it yet across any device or platform.
How long does the grey tick last?
There is no fixed duration for how long the grey tick will remain against a sent message. It depends entirely on when the recipient opens LinkedIn and checks their inbox.
The grey tick can change to blue within minutes, hours or even days after you send the message – depending on your connection’s activity. If the recipient does not use LinkedIn often, your message may stay in the unread grey state for quite a while.
What does it mean if the tick never turns blue?
If the grey tick never changes color even after a long time, it could signify a few things:
- The recipient is inactive on LinkedIn and has not logged in to see your message.
- They may have seen the message on mobile but not desktop, so it remains grey.
- Your message is stuck in their overflown inbox which they haven’t cleared out.
- They have chosen to ignore your message for some reason.
If it has been over a week and your LinkedIn message still shows a grey tick, it’s safe to assume your connection has not seen or purposefully ignored it. You may want to re-connect with them by other means.
Tips for sending LinkedIn messages
Here are some tips to keep in mind when sending messages to maximize your chances of getting a response:
- Personalize each message with the recipient’s name.
- Be clear and concise about your reason for connecting.
- Follow up if you don’t receive a response within a week.
- Avoid spamming by sending the same canned message to multiple people.
- Use LinkedIn Premium to know if your message was actually read.
- Pay attention to your recipient’s activity level on LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my message tick turn grey again after being blue?
If a LinkedIn message tick turns from blue to grey again, it could be because the recipient read your message on mobile but has not opened it on desktop yet. The mobile view does not count as a full read, so it reverts to grey.
Can I tell if someone has read my message?
With a regular LinkedIn account, you cannot definitively tell if someone read your message. The double blue tick indicates they opened it but not necessarily read it. With LinkedIn Premium, you can see view receipts to know if your message was read.
What happens if I message someone not in my network?
When you message someone who is not in your LinkedIn network, the message will be marked as “pending” and queued until the person accepts your connection request. Until then the grey tick will remain against such messages.
Can recipients know if I’ve read their messages?
Yes, the message delivery tick indicators work both ways. When you read a message sent to you, the sender will be able to see double blue ticks next to their message, indicating you’ve read it.
Why can’t I see ticks on messages I send to Groups?
For messages sent to LinkedIn Groups, you cannot see message delivery tick indicators. This is because Groups have many members and LinkedIn does not track delivery for group messages.
Summary
- A grey message tick on LinkedIn simply means the recipient has not opened or read your message yet.
- It changes to blue when they see it, and double blue when opened.
- If it stays grey for long, they may have missed or ignored your message.
- Use delivery receipts to optimize your messaging strategy and improve response rates.