You are continually being monitored and tracked and using for conversion statistics at every point in your day that you are online. One area where we might want to take back some privacy is in our own email inbox.
Companies use many third party services to implement invasive tracking pixels into your emails, which will return information such as
- List of subscribers who opened the email
- Email clients used
- The browser you’re using
- The timestamp & physical location of where you opened the email
- How many times you opened the email
- Cookie ID number for tracking website activity
- The email subject line
- Campaign type (e.g. newsletter, abandoned cart, receipt)
- List segment
- Demographic data
How are companies tracking my information through email?
A single tracking pixel is embedded into the email, hidden within an image or a link, the image, usually a pixel height and width will also usually be the same colour as the background of the email, so you won’t be able to find it by looking. When you open the email, the tracking code within the pixel sends the information back to the company, usually a third party company which will make all that information easily accessible to their clients in a report.
Why would I want to disable pixel tracking?
Maybe you value your privacy, maybe you don’t want your own email server being used against you as evidence or as part of slimy conversion techniques.
HOW TO DISABLE IMAGE PIXEL TRACKING IN EMAILS
IMPORTANT NOTE : This will only prevent the pixel firing when you immediately open the email, should you chose to show images in the email, the pixel will then fire and send all the information the company would have otherwise had at email opening without these settings checked.
So be careful about which emails you decide to load images for!
DISABLE PIXEL AUTOLOADING IN GMAIL:
Settings ( Gear Cog Icon ) –> “General” —> “Images”
(Images will be on the same first page as when you click the settings cog as general is the tab selected by default)
Select “Ask before displaying external images.”
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Save Changes.”
This also turns off Gmail’s dynamic email feature
DISABLE PIXEL AUTOLOADING IN APPLE MAIL:
Mail” –> Preferences –>Viewing”
Uncheck : “Load remote content in messages.”
DISABLE PIXEL AUTOLOADING IN OFFICE 365
File –> Options
“Outlook Options” window –> Trust Center –> “Trust Center Settings”
Click –> “Don’t download pictures automatically in standard HTML messages or RSS items”
Click –> “Don’t download pictures in encrypted or signed HTML email messages.”
DISABLE IMAGE AUTOLOADING IN ANDROID GMAIL:
Menu –> Settings
“Images.”: “Ask before displaying external images.”
DISABLE IMAGE AUTOLOADING IN IOS GMAIL:
Menu –> Settings
“Images.” : Select –> “Ask before displaying external images.”
May only work for personal accounts on mobile and not enterprise ones managed through G Suite
DISABLE IMAGE AUTOLOADING ON IOS MAIL:
“Settings” –> “Mail.”
“Messages” – toggle off “Load Remote Images.”