Or, he said, you could simply turn off your Wi-Fi while opening and reading email messages. This, of course, assumes you aren’t checking your email on your provider’s website but rather using a retrieval program like Apple Mail or Outlook.
And don’t click on any attachment while connected, nor a link within the message, even if it’s the unsubscribe button. “The unsubscribe link is the most clicked item in emails so it’s often what they use to track you,” said H.D. Moore, a senior researcher with the Internet security consultant Rapid7. “As soon as you click on it, they know everything about you.”
Besides when, where and on what device you opened the message, an email sender can also tell how long you looked at the message and if you opened other windows while you had the message displayed. Also transmitted is if you saved, forwarded or deleted the message, how many times you subsequently opened the message plus various details about your device’s operating system and settings.
Analysis of this kind of tracking data is a standard service offered by bulk email providers like Constant Contact, MailChimp or HubSpot. These companies facilitate sending emails to large mailing lists and generate tracking reports so their customers can assess how well their messages are received.
“If a business learns what email content resonates, then you’ll get better content,” said Gail Goodman, the chief executive of Constant Contact.
Indeed, email marketing services argue that the tracking actually helps recipients because senders use the data to craft more relevant messages as well as to determine the best viewing format and delivery time.
Sales people who track emails through services like Yesware and Tout-App say the practice allows them to call customers soon after they have opened messages, while the pitch is still fresh. Or perhaps they can conveniently bump into customers at Starbucks or drop by their office, where the sales person knows the customer just opened an email.
Within the last couple of years, mobile apps like Bananatag and MailTracker have made email tracking available to just about anyone. Email tracking apps and services, whether intended for professional or personal use, can cost up to $35 a month depending on the number of emails users want tracked and the detail of the tracking data.
The legality of the practice is unclear. Email trackers argue it is the same data you give away when you visit a website with cookies. Opponents say it is a matter of expectation and consent. Websites are legally required to have a privacy policy that visitors can read to understand what data is being collected.
“People don’t have that same understanding when they open an email,” said Professor Calo at the University of Washington.
Or, he said, you could simply turn off your Wi-Fi while opening and reading email messages. This, of course, assumes you aren’t checking your email on your provider’s website but rather using a retrieval program like Apple Mail or Outlook.
And don’t click on any attachment while connected, nor a link within the message, even if it’s the unsubscribe button. “The unsubscribe link is the most clicked item in emails so it’s often what they use to track you,” said H.D. Moore, a senior researcher with the Internet security consultant Rapid7. “As soon as you click on it, they know everything about you.”
Besides when, where and on what device you opened the message, an email sender can also tell how long you looked at the message and if you opened other windows while you had the message displayed. Also transmitted is if you saved, forwarded or deleted the message, how many times you subsequently opened the message plus various details about your device’s operating system and settings.
Analysis of this kind of tracking data is a standard service offered by bulk email providers like Constant Contact, MailChimp or HubSpot. These companies facilitate sending emails to large mailing lists and generate tracking reports so their customers can assess how well their messages are received.
“If a business learns what email content resonates, then you’ll get better content,” said Gail Goodman, the chief executive of Constant Contact.
Indeed, email marketing services argue that the tracking actually helps recipients because senders use the data to craft more relevant messages as well as to determine the best viewing format and delivery time.
Sales people who track emails through services like Yesware and Tout-App say the practice allows them to call customers soon after they have opened messages, while the pitch is still fresh. Or perhaps they can conveniently bump into customers at Starbucks or drop by their office, where the sales person knows the customer just opened an email.
Within the last couple of years, mobile apps like Bananatag and MailTracker have made email tracking available to just about anyone. Email tracking apps and services, whether intended for professional or personal use, can cost up to $35 a month depending on the number of emails users want tracked and the detail of the tracking data.
The legality of the practice is unclear. Email trackers argue it is the same data you give away when you visit a website with cookies. Opponents say it is a matter of expectation and consent. Websites are legally required to have a privacy policy that visitors can read to understand what data is being collected.
“People don’t have that same understanding when they open an email,” said Professor Calo at the University of Washington.
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