- What is Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection?
According to Apple, “Mail Privacy Protection stops senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user. It prevents senders from knowing when they open an email and masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.” - When will Mail Privacy Protection launch?
Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection is set to launch sometime between September and November of 2021 - Who does this affect?
This only affects the Apple Mail app. If Apple users use the Gmail app, Outlook, or other email applications, this change will not affect them. - Is Mail Privacy Protection enabled by default?
No, when someone first opens the Apple Mail app, they will get a message prompting them to either “Protect Mail activity” or “Don’t protect Mail activity” - What exactly does Mail Privacy Protection do?
Mail Privacy Protection downloads email content through multiple proxy servers in the background by default. This allows users to view an entire email, including CTAs, without needing to select “load images.” The downside is you won’t know whether they opened the email. - Why won’t I know if they opened the email?
The way Mail Privacy Protection works by downloading email information remotely causes the email to report as “Opened/Read,” even if the user doesn’t open the email directly. It will be impossible to differentiate between a pre-fetched email and an actual opened email. This will cause an increase in artificial open rates. - How does this affect email campaigns?
Email open/read rates from guests using Apple Mail will be less accurate. Since roughly 11-13% of email subscribers use Apple Mail, open rates will be off by at least 11-13% from guests with Apple devices. - Is there any way around Mail Privacy Protection
Currently there is no way to circumvent Mail Privacy Protection. - How long does pre-fetched email data stay cached?
Remotely downloaded email data stays cached for 2-3 days, after which it will report an accurate open rate if the user opens the email.
Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection & its affect on Email Campaigns
Updated on August 27, 2021