Mail Trackers
I sent this out to our staff a little while ago. Given my own personal distaste for mail trackers (ask for a read receipt if you want one.....don't force one from me) I figured I would share it here too.
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Recently we have seen a rise in the use of email tracking apps/extensions for Gmail. These plugins allow a sender to be notified when a recipient has received and opened an email message that the sender sent to them.
This post addresses some questions that have been coming to the helpdesk about these tools.
I recommend that everyone read this information as it affects you all.
How do they work?
They work by having you set a custom signature (or something similar) and then inserting a link to a very tiny image in that signature. That image is so small the recipient cannot see it; Usually 1 pixel x 1 pixel. The image is hosted on a 3rd party server, outside of the district. When you open the email message the image is called, and loads, from the server and the company is notified. The company then notifies the sender of the message that the email was opened by the recipient.
If someone sends me a message with an email tracker in it is my email secure?
As a recipient usually your email is not compromised. Mail trackers don't read the message. Once the image loads all that happens is that the company is "pinged" that the image loaded and therefore the email was opened. They usually don't send or harvest any other information.
Should I use a mail tracker so I can see if people open the email I send them?
That's up to you but here are some VERY important points to consider.
Do you really want to be "that" person? Mail trackers are considered by some people to be unethical and an invasion of privacy. In fact some people get really upset if they find out people are using them. If you are found to be using one then do you really want to have that label attached to you? Some mail trackers are not easy to spot but you cannot completely hide your intentions when using one. Eventually people will probably find out.
They can weaken relationships. Once it is discovered you are using a mail tracker then the relationships that you have with the people you send email to may suffer.
They can cause people NOT to open your email. Once people know you are using a mail tracker then they may avoid opening your messages completely, or at least straight away.
Are they really worth it? People have many reasons for not replying to email straight away -- especially in this day of smartphones, smartwatches, etc. What is it really telling you if you are notified that an email was opened? Nothing apart from the fact that the recipient did not reply straight away.
Why use it? If you have a professional need and concern about someone not opening or responding to your messages then there are alternatives.
You may be exposing yourself more than you want to. While mail trackers don't "mess" too much with recipients outside of notifying you they opened a message, remember that any app or extension that you install on your account requires that you grant that application access to your account.
Can I block email trackers from my inbox?
Yes. There are a couple of things you can do.
You can install a blocker app - Ugly Mail and PixelBlocker are ones that will block mail tracking. Problem is they are unsupported and bring their own issues. Some have been reported as slowing down mail and/or missing some mail tracking. You also might want to check on what level of access you need to grant that app in order for it to work.
You can turn off "loading external images". This is probably the best option. What that means is that Google will not load images in an email without asking you first. When asked - just don't click the option to display the images.
By doing that the mail tracker image never loads, the mail tracker company does not receive notification, and then the sender does not receive notification.
The issue with the latter option is that it will also block the loading of other images by default as well - things like photos embedded in a message, etc. In all honesty that really isn't an issue - it just sometimes looks a bit ugly.
How do I turn off loading external images?
To turn off "loading external images" do the following:
Also rest assured that if you use this method attachments, etc, will still be in your message. If someone sends you photos or documents as attachments they will still be there and available for download. It just means that external images that reference an outside website will not load (including mail tracker images) inside the email body.
If you use this option then your email may look a little ugly but what's important about an email is what is written - not how pretty it looks.
Recently we have seen a rise in the use of email tracking apps/extensions for Gmail. These plugins allow a sender to be notified when a recipient has received and opened an email message that the sender sent to them.
This post addresses some questions that have been coming to the helpdesk about these tools.
I recommend that everyone read this information as it affects you all.
How do they work?
They work by having you set a custom signature (or something similar) and then inserting a link to a very tiny image in that signature. That image is so small the recipient cannot see it; Usually 1 pixel x 1 pixel. The image is hosted on a 3rd party server, outside of the district. When you open the email message the image is called, and loads, from the server and the company is notified. The company then notifies the sender of the message that the email was opened by the recipient.
If someone sends me a message with an email tracker in it is my email secure?
As a recipient usually your email is not compromised. Mail trackers don't read the message. Once the image loads all that happens is that the company is "pinged" that the image loaded and therefore the email was opened. They usually don't send or harvest any other information.
Should I use a mail tracker so I can see if people open the email I send them?
That's up to you but here are some VERY important points to consider.
Do you really want to be "that" person? Mail trackers are considered by some people to be unethical and an invasion of privacy. In fact some people get really upset if they find out people are using them. If you are found to be using one then do you really want to have that label attached to you? Some mail trackers are not easy to spot but you cannot completely hide your intentions when using one. Eventually people will probably find out.
They can weaken relationships. Once it is discovered you are using a mail tracker then the relationships that you have with the people you send email to may suffer.
They can cause people NOT to open your email. Once people know you are using a mail tracker then they may avoid opening your messages completely, or at least straight away.
Are they really worth it? People have many reasons for not replying to email straight away -- especially in this day of smartphones, smartwatches, etc. What is it really telling you if you are notified that an email was opened? Nothing apart from the fact that the recipient did not reply straight away.
Why use it? If you have a professional need and concern about someone not opening or responding to your messages then there are alternatives.
You may be exposing yourself more than you want to. While mail trackers don't "mess" too much with recipients outside of notifying you they opened a message, remember that any app or extension that you install on your account requires that you grant that application access to your account.
Can I block email trackers from my inbox?
Yes. There are a couple of things you can do.
You can install a blocker app - Ugly Mail and PixelBlocker are ones that will block mail tracking. Problem is they are unsupported and bring their own issues. Some have been reported as slowing down mail and/or missing some mail tracking. You also might want to check on what level of access you need to grant that app in order for it to work.
You can turn off "loading external images". This is probably the best option. What that means is that Google will not load images in an email without asking you first. When asked - just don't click the option to display the images.
By doing that the mail tracker image never loads, the mail tracker company does not receive notification, and then the sender does not receive notification.
The issue with the latter option is that it will also block the loading of other images by default as well - things like photos embedded in a message, etc. In all honesty that really isn't an issue - it just sometimes looks a bit ugly.
How do I turn off loading external images?
To turn off "loading external images" do the following:
- When in Gmail click the settings/cog icon on the top right and then click "settings".When the settings window opens change the "Images" setting from "Always display external images" to "Ask before displaying external images".
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes".
- From that point forward when a message comes in with an external image embedded in it (i.e. a mail tracker image) you will see a message across the top that says "Images are not displayed". You will have the option to display the images. If you do NOT click "Display images below" then the mail tracker software cannot do its thing.
- Keep in mind doing this does not mean that ALL images blocked are mail trackers. Some images that will be blocked are valid/innocent - but usually not necessary. Often these are things like company logos in email signatures, etc.
Also rest assured that if you use this method attachments, etc, will still be in your message. If someone sends you photos or documents as attachments they will still be there and available for download. It just means that external images that reference an outside website will not load (including mail tracker images) inside the email body.
If you use this option then your email may look a little ugly but what's important about an email is what is written - not how pretty it looks.
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