6 ms·

Doesn't Gmail still proxy images so that this kind of tracking doesn't work? Or do they have a way around this?

by Fogest 5y ago

theamk 5y ago
They do, but they still load images on-demand the first time you open an email. So a spammer will know if and when you opened email; but they would not know your IP or user agent. The former is usually the most important part, and it is not blocked at all.
- Fogest 5y ago
  Yeah that's a shame. I guess it would be too expensive for Google to load the images of every single email though it would kinda avoid this issue. But I can see why that isn't really a feasible option.
  - throwawayboise 5y ago
    It's also avoidable by just setting your email client to not load images by default. Not sure if gmail offers this, but I think it does.
    - Fogest 5y ago
      Yeah haven't check if it's an option in Gmail but I am sure it is. Emails that get sent to spam however will not show images by default.
      - jjav 5y ago
        General settings : "Ask before displaying external images"
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    > I guess it would be too expensive for Google to load the images of every single email though it would kinda avoid this issue Would it really? I have no idea what the dollar cost of that would be. I can see not wanting to pay for a feature most people wouldn't use, but I certainly think Google could afford it. The biggest question would be what percent of pictures are loaded now and at what cost?
    - Fogest 5y ago
      I know I get a lot of emails that I don't open all the time but still occasionally open. I am sure there are a lot of people in a similar boat. It's definitely a bit of a hard problem. I can see it being worth it for Google to implement into business accounts Gmail's, but not as economical for doing it on personal accounts.
  - philsnow 5y ago
    they could preload them only for people who have the "never show images by default" setting turned on
jampa 5y ago
Apparently they can't track IP and Device info but still can track when and how many times someone open. Last info found googling was from 2013 though: https://blog.filippo.io/how-the-new-gmail-image-proxy-works-and-what-this-means-for-you/ https://blog.filippo.io/how-the-new-gmail-image-proxy-works-...

Doesn't Gmail still proxy images so that this kind of tracking doesn't work? Or do they have a way around this?

by Fogest 5y ago

Doesn't Gmail still proxy images so that this kind of tracking doesn't work? Or do they have a way around this?

They do, but they still load images on-demand the first time you open an email. So a spammer will know if and when you opened email; but they would not know your IP or user agent. The former is usually the most important part, and it is not blocked at all.

Fogest 5y ago
Yeah that's a shame. I guess it would be too expensive for Google to load the images of every single email though it would kinda avoid this issue. But I can see why that isn't really a feasible option.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  It's also avoidable by just setting your email client to not load images by default. Not sure if gmail offers this, but I think it does.
  - Fogest 5y ago
    Yeah haven't check if it's an option in Gmail but I am sure it is. Emails that get sent to spam however will not show images by default.
    - jjav 5y ago
      General settings : "Ask before displaying external images"
- HWR_14 5y ago
  > I guess it would be too expensive for Google to load the images of every single email though it would kinda avoid this issue Would it really? I have no idea what the dollar cost of that would be. I can see not wanting to pay for a feature most people wouldn't use, but I certainly think Google could afford it. The biggest question would be what percent of pictures are loaded now and at what cost?
  - Fogest 5y ago
    I know I get a lot of emails that I don't open all the time but still occasionally open. I am sure there are a lot of people in a similar boat. It's definitely a bit of a hard problem. I can see it being worth it for Google to implement into business accounts Gmail's, but not as economical for doing it on personal accounts.
- philsnow 5y ago
  they could preload them only for people who have the "never show images by default" setting turned on

jampa 5y ago

Apparently they can't track IP and Device info but still can track when and how many times someone open. Last info found googling was from 2013 though: https://blog.filippo.io/how-the-new-gmail-image-proxy-works-and-what-this-means-for-you/ https://blog.filippo.io/how-the-new-gmail-image-proxy-works-...