Email Privacy: How Trackers Work — and How to Stop Them

Every day, without your knowledge or consent, companies track when you open their emails, where you are when you open them, what device you are using, and sometimes even how long you spent reading. This happens through a technology called email tracking pixels — and it is far more widespread than most people realise.

What Is an Email Tracking Pixel?

A tracking pixel is a tiny image — typically 1×1 pixels in size, completely invisible to the naked eye — embedded in an email's HTML. When you open the email, your email client loads the image by making a request to the sender's server. That request reveals:

• Your IP address (which can identify your approximate location)
• The date and time you opened the email
• Your email client and operating system
• How many times you opened the email
• In some cases, your device model

This data is logged by the sender and used to build a profile of your behaviour. Marketing platforms use it to determine "email engagement rates," identify which subscribers are active, and time follow-up campaigns for maximum impact.

Who Uses Email Tracking?

Marketing emails almost universally include tracking pixels. But the practice extends well beyond conventional marketing:

• Sales teams use tracking pixels in individual emails to know the moment a prospect has read their pitch — and to time their follow-up calls.
• Journalists use them to determine whether interview requests have been seen.
• Individuals use them to track whether personal emails have been read.
• Legal and HR departments use them in sensitive communications to establish receipt.

The technology is trivially easy to implement, entirely legal in most jurisdictions, and almost completely invisible to the recipient.

How to Protect Your Email Privacy from Trackers

1. Use an Email Client That Blocks Remote Image Loading by Default

The simplest protection is to configure your email client to not automatically load images from external servers. Since tracking pixels are loaded as images, blocking remote images blocks the trackers. The downside is that legitimate images in emails will also be blocked until you choose to load them.

2. Use a Privacy-Focused Email Service

Some email services proxy all external image requests through their own servers, stripping out identifying information before the request reaches the original sender. This means the sender's server receives a request from the proxy's IP address rather than yours, protecting your location and identity while still loading the images normally.

3. Read Emails in Plain Text

Viewing emails in plain text mode entirely bypasses HTML rendering, which means tracking pixels never load. Most email clients offer a plain text mode, though it eliminates formatting and makes some emails harder to read.

4. Use a VPN

A VPN masks your real IP address, preventing location tracking via email pixels. However, other data points (email client, device type, open time) can still be collected.

Sendora's Approach to Email Tracking

Sendora is built with email privacy as a core principle. We do not embed tracking pixels in any emails sent through the Sendora platform, and we are committed to implementing tracker protection features that shield your inbox from third-party tracking as the platform develops.

Beyond that, Sendora's zero-advertising business model means we have no commercial incentive to track you. Our interests are completely aligned with your privacy.

Your Privacy Is Worth Protecting

Email tracking is one of the most pervasive and least understood privacy violations in everyday digital life. Understanding how it works is the first step to protecting yourself. Choosing an email provider that takes privacy seriously is the most important step of all.