4 ms·

In order for it to violate your privacy, it needs to take some kind of data from you that is considered private. What data is a tracking pixel taking from you?

by jbob2000 7y ago

In order for it to violate your privacy, it needs to take some kind of data from you that is considered private. What data is a tracking pixel taking from you? The only thing a tracking pixel "takes" is the address of the computer that downloaded it and the time it was downloaded. None of that is your private information.

inetknght 7y ago
> What data is a tracking pixel taking from you? Let me just list a few of the things that I consider private: * The fact that I viewed the email in any way * The fact that the email was opened on more than one date * What IP address is assigned to me by my service provider * What user-agent is used by me (and what version) * Whether or not I share my IP with other email addresses * Bandwidth information about my network * Latency information about my network > None of that is your private information. You are dead wrong on this point.
- remyp 7y ago
  In addition to the above, many tracking services log your location and some even measure how long you read the message for. They can also make a good guess at whether you forwarded the message to someone else. Even if you turn off images it's not always good enough: some trackers try to load any external resource they can, like sounds and fonts.
  - inetknght 7y ago
    > Even if you turn off images it's not always good enough: some trackers try to load any external resource they can, like sounds and fonts. Whoa. While that doesn't surprise me, I didn't know about it. Can you demonstrate it with various providers? Gmail, for instance?
    - remyp 7y ago
      Yep. Try sending an email using Yesware to Gmail.
- seandougall 7y ago
  More to the point IMO, it takes that data from anybody else you happen to forward the email to. If the journalist forwarded an email with the tracking pixel to their source, it wouldn't have to get any of that fine-grained information; even just the IP address could be enough to de-anonymize the source.

inetknght 7y ago

> What data is a tracking pixel taking from you? Let me just list a few of the things that I consider private: * The fact that I viewed the email in any way * The fact that the email was opened on more than one date * What IP address is assigned to me by my service provider * What user-agent is used by me (and what version) * Whether or not I share my IP with other email addresses * Bandwidth information about my network * Latency information about my network > None of that is your private information. You are dead wrong on this point.

remyp 7y ago
In addition to the above, many tracking services log your location and some even measure how long you read the message for. They can also make a good guess at whether you forwarded the message to someone else. Even if you turn off images it's not always good enough: some trackers try to load any external resource they can, like sounds and fonts.
- inetknght 7y ago
  > Even if you turn off images it's not always good enough: some trackers try to load any external resource they can, like sounds and fonts. Whoa. While that doesn't surprise me, I didn't know about it. Can you demonstrate it with various providers? Gmail, for instance?
  - remyp 7y ago
    Yep. Try sending an email using Yesware to Gmail.
seandougall 7y ago
More to the point IMO, it takes that data from anybody else you happen to forward the email to. If the journalist forwarded an email with the tracking pixel to their source, it wouldn't have to get any of that fine-grained information; even just the IP address could be enough to de-anonymize the source.