Opening the email causes the little image to load in your browser or application. When it happens, the image pings the site where it is kept. Google, Outlook, and Apple email clients all have built-in security measures that stop advertisers from following users around with their covert pixels.
A line of code added to an email message creates a square image measuring 1 pixel by 1 pixel called an email tracking pixel. Since email tracking pixels are frequently transparent and positioned in a covert location in the header or footer of the email, the receiver is not immediately aware that they are there.
Remarketing pixels, which show user-tailored advertisements across the Internet, are examples of tracking pixels in emails that perform more sophisticated, strategic tasks.
Users never truly see the tracking graphic for two reasons. It is little, and since it is in GIF or PNG format, the business can keep it transparent and unnoticeable to the unaided eye.
According to research, by correlating your location and device details, advertisers and other malicious attackers may be able to correlate your email activity with your browser cookies. Hackers can now track you anywhere you go online, link your email address to your internet history, and more because of this, which creates a terrifying scenario.
How to prevent email tracking
Even if it prevents you from loading family photos instantly, users must block all images that are included in the email.
- Ask before viewing external images in Gmail's settings for pictures.
- Outlook: You want options, options for external image blocking, options for the trust center, and automatic download.
- Turn on Protect email activities in the privacy section of the iPhone and iPad settings by going to Apple Mail. Alternately, enable IP address concealment and disable all remote content.
Users can also attempt to increase the security of their email experience in another way. Lastly, one should think about routing all of the internet activities through a VPN connection. Users can get a private relay email account that will erase the trackers from the email before users open it.
