EmailDiscussions.com  

Go Back   EmailDiscussions.com > Discussions about Email Services > Email Comments, Questions and Miscellaneous
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Stay in touch wirelessly

Email Comments, Questions and Miscellaneous Share your opinion of the email service you're using. Post general email questions and discussions that don't fit elsewhere.

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 17 Feb 2021, 04:37 PM   #1
janusz
The "e" in e-mail
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 4,933
Spy pixels in emails have become endemic

From the BBC website:
Quote:
The use of "invisible" tracking tech in emails is now "endemic", according to a messaging service that analysed its traffic at the BBC's request.

Hey's review indicated that two-thirds of emails sent to its users' personal accounts contained a "spy pixel", even after excluding for spam.

Its makers said that many of the largest brands used email pixels, with the exception of the "big tech" firms.

Defenders of the trackers say they are a commonplace marketing tactic. And several of the companies involved noted their use of such tech was mentioned within their wider privacy policies.

British Airways, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Sainsbury's, Tesco, HSBC, Marks & Spencer, Asos and Unilever are among UK brands Hey detected to be using them. But their use was much more widespread despite many members of the public being unaware of it, said [Hey's co-founder] Mr Hansson.
To be honest, the article reads a bit like a plug for Hey's services. Which of course doesn't mean the facts and analysis are incorrect.
janusz is offline   Reply With Quote

Old 17 Feb 2021, 06:40 PM   #2
Fenman
Cornerstone of the Community
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: UK (East Anglia)
Posts: 731
Thanks for raising that, Janusz. I saw the same article. I'm with Fastmail. Do they offer protection (eg by not loading images) or is it something else?
Fenman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17 Feb 2021, 08:13 PM   #3
lpn
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 72
Quote:
Originally Posted by janusz View Post
From the BBC website:

To be honest, the article reads a bit like a plug for Hey's services. Which of course doesn't mean the facts and analysis are incorrect.
I thought that blocking external images and scripts should be standard now for the webmail providers and even more so for desktop/mobile clients and the issue should be mitigated to a large extent.
lpn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27 Feb 2021, 06:02 PM   #4
gj15
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Just west of the Greenwich meridian
Posts: 59
Fastmail have published a blog post about this https://fastmail.blog/2021/02/26/fas...om-spy-pixels/ though I feel they could have made it clearer their technique only works when using webmail or their app.

Thunderbird has a feature I like - clicking on a link in an email message, it seems to scan the display text as well as the code link and offer a prompt to follow the display text. e.g. a link to http://www.emaildiscussions.com may have tracking code behind it of the form http://mail.sometracker.com/abcxyz123*&@ but Thunderbird will follow the display, non-tracking link if you so choose.
gj15 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT +9. The time now is 04:51 PM.

 

Copyright EmailDiscussions.com 1998-2022. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy