Understanding Spy Pixels and Enhanced Tracking Protection

Spy pixels are tiny, invisible images embedded in web pages or emails to track your online activities. These pixels can be as small as 1x1 pixels and are often used for targeted advertising.

They work by sending a signal to the server that hosts the pixel, which then records your IP address, browser type, and other identifying information. This data can be used to create a detailed profile of your online behavior.

Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) is a feature in some browsers that blocks third-party cookies and prevents spy pixels from functioning. ETP can be enabled in the browser settings to prevent tracking.

By enabling ETP, you can take control of your online data and prevent companies from collecting it without your consent.

On a similar theme: How to Disable Cross Site Tracking

Spy pixels are a type of tracking tool used in email marketing. They can collect sensitive information such as whether the email has been opened, date and time of opening, device type and operating system, and even IP address and geographic location.

A spy pixel is essentially a small image file, often just 1x1 pixels, that is inserted into an email. This image file is linked to a tracking object stored on the sender's server through a reference URL.

The tracking process begins when a sender inserts an image tag into an HTML-based email. This image tag is linked to a tracking object stored on the server of the sender through a reference Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Any email user can be reached via email tracking due to the open nature of email. This means that even if you don't click on a link, simply opening the email can trigger the spy pixel to collect data.

Here's a breakdown of what information can be collected by a spy pixel:

Recipients don't need to click on a link or do anything to activate spy pixels beyond opening the email they're embedded in.

Email trackers can be sneaky, but they're often used in marketing materials. Companies like to include them in newsletters and other promotional emails.

There are two common types of email trackers: spy pixels and tracking links. Spy pixels are used for web tracking, while tracking links are used for email tracking.

Email tracking makes it easier to trace back to an individual without consent, as email addresses can reveal a lot about a person, including their affiliation, browsing history, and online social media profile.

Tracking links can be sneaky. They allow senders to track your interactions with their website over time and between apps.

Clicking on a link with UTM tracking parameters can trigger this tracking.

You might not even realize you're being tracked, as it's happening behind the scenes.

Proton Mail's Enhanced Tracking Protection can help you stay one step ahead. This feature is enabled by default, but you can turn it off if you prefer.

To see which email trackers have been blocked, look for the shield icon at the top right of your email. The number on the icon indicates the total number of trackers blocked and links "cleaned".

Clicking on the shield icon will give you more details about the blocked trackers and cleaned links.

If you want to turn off Enhanced Tracking Protection, you can do so in your Proton Mail settings.

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Email tracking is a standard feature of automated email services used by large and small businesses. It's often difficult to turn off.

Companies like Superhuman tried to extend email tracking to the public as a default feature, but reversed course after a public outcry. This shows how sensitive people can be about their online activities being tracked.

Email tracking makes it easier to trace back to any individual without consent, as email addresses can reveal an individual's affiliation, browsing history, and online social media profile. This can lead to cross-tracking across devices.

Two common types of email trackers are spy pixels and tracking links. They're often included in newsletters and marketing material sent by companies.

Tracking pixels can link an individual's email address to their wider browsing habits, even as they move from one device to another. This can lead to personalised follow-ups from salespeople or consultants.

Particularly with salespeople or consultants, they can use email tracking to send follow-up phone calls, saying something like "I saw you open my email yesterday, but you haven't replied yet. Can I call?"

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Using a plain text email client is a simple way to avoid email-tracking, but it can result in a loss of information and a decline in user experience.

Disabling automatic download of images is another option, but it often leads to incorrect formatting and confusion.

Blocking extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, and Ghostery can filter tracking requests, but they might not be effective against all threats.

Filter lists like EasyList, EasyPrivacy, and Disconnect can detect tracking requests, but they still miss around 30% of the trackers.

Recent research has focused on developing anti-tracking software using machine learning to protect users.

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Disabling automatic download of images can help block email tracking, but it often results in a loss of information and a decline in user experience.

Blocking extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, and Ghostery can filter tracking requests, but they may not completely protect users from email tracking threats.

Four researchers found that invisible pixels are present on more than 94.51% of domains and make up 35.66% of all third-party images.

Using filter lists like EasyList, EasyPrivacy, and Disconnect can detect known tracking and advertising requests, but they miss around 30% of the trackers that researchers detected.

Combining all three filter lists still allowed 379,245 requests from 8,744 domains to track users on 68.70% of websites.

Analyzing mail flows and aggregate statistical data can help protect user accounts by detecting abnormal email behavior, such as viral propagation of malicious email attachments and spam emails.

Some privacy tools have usability flaws, which can make it difficult for users to make informed decisions, such as thinking they've installed a tool successfully when they haven't.

Here's an interesting read: How to Check Blocked Users on Facebook

Proton Mail's web app has a shield icon at the top right of emails that contain spy pixels or tracking links, indicating the total number of trackers blocked and links "cleaned".

This feature is enabled by default and can be turned off in the settings, which are synced across all Proton Mail apps.

To turn off enhanced tracking protection, go to Settings → All settings → Proton Mail → Email privacy and toggle off the Block email tracking switch.

On the Proton Mail web app, clicking the shield icon will show more details about the blocked trackers and cleaned links.

You can also click on the number of trackers blocked or links cleaned to get more information about which domains or links are targeting you.

Proton Mail's enhanced tracking protection protects your privacy by removing known email trackers and pre-loading remote images on your behalf using a proxy with a generic IP address and geolocation.

This hides your personal information and the exact time you opened the email, and images are cached for a few days for faster, secure access.

Here's a quick rundown of how to access the shield icon on the Proton Mail web app:

In the UK and Europe, the use of tracking pixels is governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (Pecr) of 2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2016.

Organisations are required to inform recipients about the pixels and obtain their consent.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that consent must be "unambiguous" and "a clear affirmative act".

Solely placing a tracking pixel in a privacy notice is not considered consent.

The ICO, a watchdog in the UK, was found to have used a tracking pixel in its own e-newsletter, but claimed it was used only to track email openings, not users' locations.