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2:Taed,{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://mailshade.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https://mailshade.org/guide/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How email tracking works","item":"https://mailshade.org/guide/how-email-tracking-works/"}]},{"@type":"Article","headline":"How email tracking works","description":"Email open tracking can use a small remote image whose fetch creates a signal. Learn what that request can reveal and how browser-side blocking works.","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://mailshade.org/og/guide/how-email-tracking-works.png","mainEntityOfPage":"https://mailshade.org/guide/how-email-tracking-works/","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mailshade","url":"https://mailshade.org"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mailshade","url":"https://mailshade.org"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is a tracking pixel?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A tracking pixel is a small remote image embedded with a unique URL. A client or proxy fetch can create a signal, and the network address, client details and time visible to the endpoint depend on the request path."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is declarativeNetRequest?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It is the Chrome MV3 API that lets an extension declare rules to block or modify network requests. Mailshade uses it to cancel receiver-side browser requests matching reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can a sender track me without a pixel?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Pixel-based open tracking relies on an image request, while consent-based receipts and click redirects are separate mechanisms. Mailshade cancels matching receiver-side pixel requests and, for a supported redirect with a verified destination, lets you choose the direct URL or keep the original."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does email tracking work if I never load images?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Pixel-based browser tracking needs the remote image request. Disabling remote images prevents those page requests but also removes ordinary images; it does not establish whether a provider fetched an image earlier. Mailshade instead targets reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints, allowing non-matching images to continue loading."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is there a free way to block tracking pixels?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. Mailshade keeps core protection free after a 14-day Pro trial, with rolling seven-day history and a top-10 sender view. Paid Pro starts at $3.99 per month or $19 one-time; its source is open under AGPL-3.0."}}]}]}0:{"rsc":["$","$1","c",{"children":[["$","main",null,{"className":"container-x py-16","children":[["$","script",null,{"type":"application/ld+json","dangerouslySetInnerHTML":{"__html":"$2"}}],["$","article",null,{"className":"prose prose-ink max-w-none","children":[["$","h1",null,{"children":"How email tracking works"}],["$","p",null,{"className":"text-lg text-ink-200","children":"Email open tracking can use a small remote image with a unique URL. When a mail client or its image proxy fetches that URL, the endpoint can record a signal; the network address, client details and timing available to it depend on the delivery path. Some senders also route links through tracking redirects. After you opt into a supported client, Mailshade uses Chrome's declarativeNetRequest to cancel receiver-side browser requests that match a reviewed tracker-pixel endpoint catalog across Gmail, Outlook, Office 365, Superhuman, Yahoo Mail and ProtonMail. Its local DOM scan separately detects pixels and supported tracking-link patterns. This page explains both mechanisms and their limits."}],"$L3","$L4","$L5"]}]]}],null,"$L6"]}],"isPartial":false,"staleTime":300,"varyParams":null,"buildId":"mailshade-static-v1"}
7:T5f8,<h2>The tracking pixel</h2><p>A small remote image can be embedded with a unique URL. A request for it can be interpreted as an open signal, although a mail provider may fetch or cache the image independently of the recipient opening the message. The image can be visually unobtrusive, while the request remains observable to the endpoint.</p><h2>What a request can expose</h2><ul><li>That the unique resource was requested, and how many requests were observed.</li><li>A network address associated with the client or proxy, which may support approximate geolocation.</li><li>Device or client details present in request metadata.</li><li>The timestamp of each observed request.</li></ul><h2>Click tracking</h2><p>Some links are rewritten to pass through an intermediary first. Contacting that redirect can create a click signal before forwarding to the destination. This is separate from the open-pixel mechanism.</p><h2>How Mailshade handles it</h2><p>declarativeNetRequest cancels receiver-side browser requests that match reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints. A cancelled tested request does not reach that endpoint from the page, but it does not establish every upstream or sender-side outcome; in Gmail, Google may have fetched or cached the image earlier. Mailshade locally detects supported click-tracking redirect patterns and, when a direct destination can be verified from the URL, lets you choose it or the original tracked URL. The dashboard records detections rather than claiming every detected signal was blocked.</p>3:["$","div",null,{"dangerouslySetInnerHTML":{"__html":"$7"}}]
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