Read tracking
Read tracking tells you when someone opens a message you sent. It is part of some plans only: the operator switches it on by adding the Read tracking (read_tracking) entitlement to a plan.
Tracking a message
- Write the message in rich text, Markdown or HTML (plain-text messages cannot carry the tracking image).
- Switch on Tell me when it's opened, next to the format menu.
- Send it.
Open the message in Sent to see the result, such as "Not opened yet" or "Opened 3 times, first … last …".
How it works, and its limits
The message carries a tiny invisible image from this server. Each time a mail app loads it, it counts as an open. Only the number of opens and their times are kept; never who opened it, from where, or with which app.
This means:
- An open may only mean the message arrived. Apple Mail's Mail Privacy Protection loads images as soon as mail arrives, and Gmail and Yahoo load them through their own proxy. Opens through Gmail's and Yahoo's proxies are counted separately, but Apple's cannot be told apart.
- No open does not mean it was not read. Many people and companies block remote images, including Zappocity's own webmail until you press Load images.
- One count per message, not per recipient. A message to several people has one image, so you see total opens.
- Forwarded copies count too.
Your own copy in Sent never counts: webmail does not load the image there, even after Load images.
Privacy and the law
In the EU and the UK, and elsewhere, tracking whether someone opened an email can require their consent. Check what applies to you before using it, especially for marketing. Operators who do not want it offered can leave the entitlement off every plan, which is the default.
Incoming mail with tracking images from others stays protected: webmail blocks remote images until you choose Load images, and then loads them through the server, so senders do not see your address.