What are privacy implications of tracking?

Email tracking enables powerful behavioral insights but raises significant privacy concerns.

What tracking reveals:

When and where recipients opened (time, IP-based location)

What device and email client they use

Which links they clicked and when

Whether they forwarded (if tracking survives)

Patterns of engagement over time

Privacy concerns:

Invisible monitoring: Recipients often don't realize they're tracked. The pixel is invisible; link wrapping isn't obvious.

Location exposure: IP addresses reveal approximate location, which some consider sensitive.

Behavioral profiling: Aggregating tracking data builds detailed profiles of individual behavior.

Third-party sharing: Tracking often involves third parties (ESPs, analytics platforms) who receive recipient data.

Regulatory requirements:

GDPR: Requires lawful basis for processing (often legitimate interest for marketing analytics), transparency in privacy policies, and data subject rights.

CCPA: Requires disclosure of data collection and opt-out rights.

Best practices:

Disclose tracking in privacy policies

Respect privacy settings (like Apple MPP) gracefully

Only collect data you actually use

Secure tracking data appropriately

Tracking is a privilege earned through transparency, not a right to take silently.