Did you know that the emails you receive are often being tracked with email pixel tracking?
It’s a common marketing practice that most companies use to know if you’re interested in reading their emails or not. And in most cases, email tracking on company newsletters isn’t a significant invasion of your email privacy.
But what if email pixel tracking is being used by someone that you don’t want to share your email activity with- like an investor, or maybe someone you went on a few dates with? It’s not difficult for them to track:
- How many times you open an email of theirs
- What city you open it from
- The date and time you open it
It can get a little dicey when you’re unwittingly sending email activity notifications to someone that you might never want to speak with again.
That’s why cloudHQ proudly offers a free Google Chrome extension, Email Privacy Protector: Is My Email Tracked? that protects your email privacy.
Here’s a short movie that explains exactly how it works:
How to Block Email Pixel Tracking in 1 Simple Step
Email Privacy Protector: Is My Email Tracked? will take the guesswork out of who is tracking your email, and block them from tracking you by default.
Step 1. Install the Free Chrome Extension
Navigate to the Google Chrome Web Store, and click on “Add to Chrome.”
Once it’s added to Chrome, simply refresh Gmail, and you’ll successfully block anyone from tracking you again.
What You’ll See When Someone is Tracking You
You’ll now be able to confirm if anyone’s trying to tracking you with a notification on the top of your email.
In the image below, John is tracking the email he sent to Ruby. If Ruby opens his email, John will never know it. He won’t be able to collect any information about when, where, or how many times Ruby read his email.
How To Unblock Email Pixel Tracking
If you decide that you want someone to know that you read their email, all you need to do is hover your mouse over the right hand side button that says “Tracking is blocked”.
Once you hover on top of the words “Tracking is blocked”, you’ll see a new option that says “Unblock: Let sender know you’ve read it”. If you click on it, you’ll enable the sender’s pixel tracker to confirm that you’ve read that email.
At cloudHQ, we like to arm you with the digital tools that you need in order to make Gmail work best for you. Simply click on the button below to get started with your very own complimentary email privacy protector.
Who is Email Privacy Especially Good For?
Email privacy is excellent for just about anyone, but there are certain people who are at an even higher risk for a direct attack on their email privacy than most. Receiving emails from investors, someone who wants to sue you, salespeople, etc, is a very delicate dance that requires a harder stance on your email privacy protection.
Below is a list of 5 types people who are at an exceptionally high risk for email pixel tracking.
1. Company Founders
There’s been a recent news of Silicon Valley companies who automatically uses email pixel tracking on their outbound emails. When you’re a founder and you’re navigating term sheets, you really don’t want your investors tracking how eager you are to open their emails. Otherwise, it could potentially be a turn off and you could lose the deal altogether.
2. If You’re in a Legal Battle
Are you going through a legal battle like a divorce, or maybe reassessing your custody arrangement with an ex-spouse? Not only do you need to be careful about what emails you send them, but you also need to be careful about what information you’re sending that’s not in your email.
For instance, don’t give information about: where you’re located when you open someone’s email, how many times you open it, or how long it takes for you to respond to it.
Don’t unwittingly give anyone who’s going through a legal process with you an edge in court.
3. Buyers
Having to negotiate with sales people means that they’re probably tracking your email behavior with an email pixel tracker. You might not want to show that you’ve opened their email because you might need to collect more quotes from other suppliers before responding with a purchase order. Outsmart sales people, and privatize the unspoken information that you’re sending them so that you can save your company more money.
4. Potential Employers
Are you searching for a job? When potential employers reach out to you, they’re probably tracking how long it takes for you to open, and then respond back to their email. Instead of rushing through an email reply, take your time to respond with a well-crafted email that shows how articulate you can be.
5. Politicians
When you’re in politics, the value of your privacy comes with a hefty price. Never let anyone know:
- Where you are when you open emails in case you take trips that could work against you
- How often you opened their emails, which indicates your eagerness to work with them
- When you opened an email in case you need more time to think out a great response
Covering all your email privacy bases is a no-brainer if you ever want to climb the ladder in politics.
cloudHQ empowers you to proactively protect your email information. We’re GDPR compliant, a Google-trusted partner, and we always use 256-bit military grade encryption with strict privacy standards. Start protecting your email privacy today by clicking on the button below.