Can Someone Know That I Have Opened Their Email?

Jason Kurekgi November 25, 2019

Today, all the emails you receive from companies have an email tracker in it. The email tracker notifies the sender when the receiver opens the email. Earlier was the time when the email senders used to request enabling read receipts from the receivers. Confirming the read receipts would help the sender to know whether the receiver has opened the email or not.

If you are here, you must be interested in knowing can someone see if you opened their email. Earlier, the receiver has to enable read receipts in order to let the sender know whether the receiver is opening the mails or not.

At present, various email tracking methods have come into the market. So, the answer to the question, “Can someone tell if I read their email?” is YES. Today, it has been possible because of different email trackers. Let’s understand how actually emails are tracked.

How Are Emails Tracked?

Whether can someone tell if you read their email or not is mainly depends upon the email client you are using. Most of the email marketing services come with invisible pixels.

Over time, emails and email marketing is gaining great popularity. One of the ways emails are being tracked is via a single-pixel image. The email you are receiving from the company or a person will not just include a text message. It can also include HTML code or email tracking pixel image. And, this is how email tracking works.

Depending upon the email client you use the external images and content would be based on that. Email clients like Outlook and Thunderbird allow the receiver to block the external images and other content.

The email newsletters or automated emails you receive from companies almost all of them have the invisible single-pixel image, which helps to track whether you have opened the email or not. The receiver of the email has a unique tracking image address. This single-pixel image is also known as a 1×1 image or web beacons.

When you open the email newsletter or automated email you have received from the company, the invisible single-pixel image loads with a unique address. As the name suggests, you can’t see the 1×1 image. After the 1×1 image loads from the server of the sender, it lets the sender know that you have opened the email.

Another method companies often use for email tracking is via the link in the email. Different links will have a unique identifier. The problem with this method is the sender of the email will know about it only when the receiver clicks on the link inside the email. Email tracking tools are used mainly for marketing purposes. Email tracking helps the sender to know when the receiver has opened the email.

In a nutshell, the answer to the question – “If you open an email does the sender know?” is Yes. In this post, we have shared the guide on how actually companies and marketers know when the receiver opens their emails.