2026-11-06 - What Can a Sender Learn When You Open an Email?
You open an email, read it and move on. For you, that is the end of it. The sender, however, may have just received a piece of information: the message was opened, at that time, on that kind of device, perhaps for the third time.
This post opens Invisible Traces, the Friday series on the traces we leave without seeing them. The guiding question stays the same throughout: how much control do people have over their own information?
The first case is the tracking pixel. It does not read the message: it observes what you do with the message, and usually without you noticing.
I have already published a
legal analysis of the Italian DPA Guidelines
, written mainly for controllers and DPOs. Here the perspective is that of the person receiving the email. The legal section covers Italian rules, but the practical steps work anywhere.
Why now
On 29 October 2026, the
deadline set by the Italian Data Protection Authority
(the Garante) for complying with its tracking pixel Guidelines expired. The Authority has also announced that their application is part of its inspection activity for the second half of 2026.
The deadline does not mean that every email is now compliant. It means that you can now expect more transparency and, in many cases, a choice. It is worth knowing what to ask for.
How it works
Many emails do not actually contain their images: they contain the address to download them from. When your mail app displays the message, it requests those images from an external server.
A tracking pixel exploits this step. It is a tiny image, often transparent, that nobody notices. Its purpose is not to show anything:
its purpose is to trigger the request
. As a rule, the tracker differs for each recipient, so the server can link that request to you specifically.
It should not be confused with a read receipt:
that the two are different. A pixel does not ask you anything.
If you want to act straight away, block the automatic download of images.
What the sender can learn
According to the
,
and the French
, a pixel can reveal:
- whether the message was opened and at what time;
- how many times you reopened it, since it fires at each opening;
- your IP address, from which an approximate location can be derived;
- the type of device and app you use;
- that your address is active, which also interests spammers.
There are also things it cannot learn. It gives no access to your mailbox or your other messages. And a recorded opening does not prove that you read anything: it only shows that the image was downloaded.
On its own, a single opening says little. What matters is repetition: times, frequency and interest in certain topics can
. As with
, the risk lies in the context rather than the content.
Not all pixels serve the same purpose, though. Measuring your behaviour to sell more effectively is one thing. Checking that a security code reached your device is another. The law takes this difference into account.
What the law says
The rules in force
The reference is
Article 122 of the Italian Privacy Code
, which transposes the ePrivacy Directive. The Garante applies it to pixels in its
, published in the Italian Official Gazette on 29 April. The
(para. 48) also addresses the pixel that detects when an email is opened, in the context of Article 5(3) of the Directive.
SituationWhat appliesExamples
Individual measurementPrior consent requiredKnowing whether you personally opened a promotion, adapting how often you are contacted, commercial profiling
Aggregate statisticsConsent not required, provided that one pixel is used for the whole campaign and technical data are anonymisedOverall open rate to improve delivery and fight spam
Authentication securityConsent not requiredAccount confirmation, password reset
Mandatory institutional or service messagesConsent not required, where it matters that the recipient actually took notePhishing warnings, contract changes, security incident notices
In every case, you must be informed. Three further points matter for recipients:
- Single consent. It may be included in consent to promotional messages. I have explained
why this choice leaves me doubtful
.
- Selective withdrawal. You can stop receiving the messages or refuse the tracking alone. As an example, the Garante points to a standard icon or a link in the email footer.
- No penalty. Refusing tracking must not limit the service.
For existing relationships, protection may take the form of a notice in the first useful message, together with withdrawal. This is why you may never see a consent request and may only find a link at the bottom of a newsletter.
The picture is not identical outside Italy. In France, for example, the
has published its own recommendation.
Why the Italian Constitution matters
Article 15 of the Italian Constitution
protects the freedom and confidentiality of correspondence and of every other form of communication. In
, in a case concerning a member of parliament’s correspondence, the Constitutional Court brought email within this protection and recalled that the guarantee extends to the external data of a communication.
A pixel is not an interception: the sender is a party to the communication, and data protection law remains the applicable framework. In my view, however, that case law offers the right lens: knowing when and how we communicate is not a technical detail, but part of what deserves protection.
What may change
What follows is not law in force. On 21 October 2026, the Council approved its position on the
, which keeps the cookie rules in Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive and widens the exceptions. The text still has to go through trilogues: it remains to be seen whether and how the new exceptions will affect pixels in emails.
What you can do
1. Check your mail app
The most effective measure is to stop images from downloading automatically. The table shows the paths given by the vendors, which may change with updates. Labels may differ with your interface language.
AppWhere to lookGood to know
Settings → See all settings → Images → Ask before displaying external images → Save ChangesGoogle explains that senders may sometimes still know that you opened the message
Menu → Settings → Email preferences → Images → Ask before displaying external imagesImages remain one tap away
Settings → Apps → Mail → Privacy Protection → Protect Mail ActivityRequires the “Limit IP Address Tracking” option
Mail → Settings → Privacy → Protect Mail ActivityAlternatively: “Hide IP Address” and “Block All Remote Content”
File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings → keep Don't download pictures automatically selectedThis is the default behaviour
Privacy and data settings → Always use the Outlook service to load imagesThis is a proxy: Microsoft does not specify what remains visible to the sender
Settings → Block External ImagesWhen you reply to a message, external images load normally
≡ → Settings → Privacy & Security → keep Allow remote content in messages uncheckedBlocking is on by default
Web: Email privacy. Apps: Privacy and security. Option Block email trackingOn by default, but check it in each app
Reading in plain text also prevents the pixel from downloading, as the
notes.
2. Use the withdrawal link
Look at the bottom of the email for the icon or link to manage your preferences. If you want to keep receiving a newsletter without being measured, choose to withdraw from tracking only, where available.
If you find nothing, you can write to the contact named in the sender’s privacy notice. This step is optional and a few lines are enough:
Please tell me whether you use tracking pixels in emails sent to this address and for what purposes, and provide a copy of the related data concerning me (Article 15 GDPR). I also withdraw my consent to this tracking (Article 7(3) GDPR).
For an access request, the
generally provides for a reply within one month (Article 12(3)). Withdrawal follows a different rule: Article 7(3) requires it to be as easy as giving consent.
Do not do this with unknown or suspicious senders: replying or clicking confirms that your address is active. I will devote a future post to spam.
3. If the sender does not reply
In Italy, you can lodge a
under Article 77 GDPR, using the form published by the Authority. Keep the email, your request and any reply. If you live in another EU Member State, you can turn to the authority in your own country.
How much does it really help?
Each countermeasure reduces something, but none removes everything.
CountermeasureWhat it reducesWhat remains
Blocking imagesThe pixel does not fire until you load imagesIf you load them, the pixel can fire. Blocking does not distinguish pixels from useful images
Plain textNo image is downloadedYou lose layout and images in every message
Apple MailHides your IP address and makes it harder to tell whether and when you opened the message
It does not cover links and attachments
. If Mail cannot load content privately and you load it anyway,
GmailThe sender cannot derive your computer or location from image loadingThe sender may sometimes know that you opened the message
Proton MailBlocks pixels and, for emails that are not end-to-end encrypted, hides your IP address, device and opening timeLink cleaning works only in the web app and
Withdrawal and complaintThey act at the source, against an identifiable senderThey depend on the sender's response and do not stop those who ignore the rules
The most important limit applies to every setting: blocking the pixel does not block link tracking. A click on a link can be measured in another way, and that will be the subject of a future post.
So control does exist, but it has to be built on two levels. Settings reduce what leaves your device. Rights affect what the sender may do. Neither is enough on its own.
Sources
- Italian Data Protection Authority,
, decision no. 284 of 17 April 2026 (in Italian)
- Garante,
, 5 October 2026 (in Italian)
- Garante,
(in Italian)
- Garante,
(in Italian)
Constitution of the Italian Republic
, Article 15
- Italian Constitutional Court,
(in Italian)
Italian Personal Data Protection Code
, Article 122 (in Italian)
, Articles 7, 12, 15 and 77
- EDPB,
, version 2.0 of 7 October 2024
- CNIL,
Tracking pixels: you must be better informed
and
(in French)
- Official guides from
,
,
,
and
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