Agent WranglersEmail privacy Recommended
Don't rely on tracking pixels
Avoid tracking pixels, and never make a decision on open data alone. Where you do track opens, say so and get consent where the law asks for it.
How to do it
Apple Mail's privacy protection loads remote images for every message, whether read or not, through Apple's own servers. Opens from Apple Mail therefore look like reads, at the wrong time and place. Some other clients block remote images by default. Measure clicks, replies and actions on your site instead. In the EU, a pixel that reads whether someone opened a message needs consent.
How to check
Send a test to a Gmail account with images blocked and to Apple Mail with privacy protection on. No report or automation treats either result as a read.
For agents: if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in Based on the Agent Wranglers email playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/email/email-privacy/tracking-pixels.