Junk emails often go straight to your spam folder, but you can still receive promotional emails. You might also want to receive those emails to stay informed about the latest collection of your favorite clothing brand. However, you should be aware that ‘desired’ advertising emails can also have unwanted consequences.
For example, the so-called tracking pixel is a commonly used technique to find out whether you have opened an email, when you did so and where you opened the email. A tracking pixel is an image file that is invisibly embedded in the HTML code of an email and measures when a recipient opens the email. The sender can find this information in the system used for sending bulk emails.
Automatic loading of images
There are several browser extensions that try to block tracking and Google has also taken some steps for Gmail, but these ways are not foolproof. Fortunately, it is not terribly complicated to prevent you from being followed in your mailbox. The solution lies in the automatic loading of images. If you make sure that images in emails are not automatically loaded, then tracking pixels don’t stand a chance either. Of course it is still possible that senders can retrieve certain information, but most trackers are stopped in this way.
We explain how to turn off the automatic loading of images in some popular mail providers.
gmail
In Gmail, press the gear icon and then View all settings. Under the tab General scroll down until you reach Pictures comes. Choose the option here Ask to display external images first and save the changes. If you’re using Gmail on your phone, the steps to disable images are pretty much the same.
Outlook
In the browser version of Outlook you cannot disable the automatic loading of images, but you can load the images via the mail program’s own servers. This is a lot more sensible from a privacy point of view.
Within Outlook, click the gear icon and then View all Outlook settings. In the menu on the left, choose General and then before Privacy and data. below External images select the option Always use the Outlook service to load images.
Apple Mail
If you use Apple’s mail service on your smartphone, go to the Settings app and tap tik Mail. below Messages you switch the option Load images from. On your Mac, in the Mail app, go to Preferences and then to Display. Switch here Load external material into messages from.
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