{"id":4033,"date":"2021-07-29T06:40:08","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T06:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshinbox.com\/blog\/?p=4033"},"modified":"2023-07-26T15:32:46","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T15:32:46","slug":"how-to-build-your-own-email-open-tracking-pixel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshinbox.com\/blog\/how-to-build-your-own-email-open-tracking-pixel\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing Apple\u2019s Pixelgeddon: How To Build Your Own Email “Open” Tracking Pixel"},"content":{"rendered":"

During this year\u2019s Apple WWDC conference, Apple announced an upcoming feature for iOS 15 that will be available for iOS devices called <\/span>Mail Privacy Protection<\/span><\/a>. One of the major features of Mail Privacy Protection is that images will be downloaded in the background \u4e00 even without the email being read by the recipient, rendering open tracking moot. This is because open tracking is based on having an image pixel being loaded when a recipient opens the email.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I wrote some observations on what I found out through this testing in this article:\u00a0A Technical Take on iOS15 Mail Privacy Protection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious to find out yourself how Apple is implementing this feature, you\u2019re in luck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Update:<\/b> The tracking pixel code has been modified to support generating an external CSS pixel. Read this article for more details<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Installing iOS 15 Beta<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although iOS 15 won\u2019t launch until at least September, you can download the iOS 15 Beta on your phone if you’re curious. A note of warning:<\/u> Installing Beta operating systems always carries a risk that it could mess up your device, so do not attempt this without first backing up your phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are going ahead with the Beta download, there are two ways to do this. The first is the official way: by signing up for <\/span>Apple\u2019s Beta program<\/span><\/a>. The second, the unofficial but faster way, is to simply install the Beta profile into your phone by visiting and downloading the <\/span>iOS 15 Beta profile<\/span><\/a> from BetaProfiles.com.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you have iOS 15 Beta installed, you should see the prompt to turn on Mail Privacy Protection when you open up your mail app. Turn it on and you\u2019re good to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pixel Trackers: Two Options<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you have access to a web server that runs PHP, you can run your own pixel tracker that will give you the most amount of information available. However, if you don\u2019t have access to a web server, you can also create a simple tracker using Google Analytics. You lose some fidelity (such as no IP or user agent), but you can get the time the pixels were loaded.<\/span><\/p>\n

PHP script:<\/b><\/h3>\n

Note: this is a \u201cproof of concept\u201d and is not meant to be used as an industrial pixel tracker for millions of emails, as it will probably crash your server.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Below is a PHP script that will retrieve 3 things from a request and write to a file.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The query string sent to it (using a predetermined parameter)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The IP address<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The user agent string<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Copy this script<\/a> under your webserver directory and test it by visiting the URL (replace “\/path\/to” with the actual path your script is in):
    \n<\/span>
    \nhttps:\/\/your-server.com\/path\/to\/pixel.php
    \n<\/span>
    \nDepending on your server setup, you might need to pre-create the pixel.log file and grant write permissions to your web server for the script to write to it. (The git source has the     latest version of this code<\/a>)<\/p>\n

    <?php\ndate_default_timezone_set('America\/Los_Angeles');\n\nlog_request();\n\n\/* \n  Get the p \"parameter\" from the url\n  ie. https:\/\/myserver.com\/path\/to\/pixel.php?p=mypixel\n\n  If p is not set, print \"The pixel is live\" else output a gif pixel\n\n  NOTE: Make sure to only use https for the pixel:\n  
    Next Chrome Update Will Block Non-HTTPS Images in Email<\/a><\/blockquote>