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To reduce email-open tracking, stop your mail app from automatically loading remote images. A tracking pixel is usually a tiny, uniquely addressed image; when your app requests it, the sender may learn that the message was consulted and receive contextual information. The setting differs by app and device, and blocking remote images does not stop tracking through links you click.
What blocking remote images changes
Many email-open trackers work by embedding an individualized image hosted on a remote server. When the mail client fetches that image to display it, the request can reveal that the message was consulted. CNIL’s 2026 recommendation describes how individualized pixel URLs can return an identifier or IP address and disclose information about message consultation (CNIL recommendation).
Blocking remote content prevents the image request until you choose to allow it. Apple Mail’s Protect Mail Activity takes a different approach: it privately fetches remote content in the background, so a fetch is less useful as proof that you opened a message. It does not mean remote images are never fetched.
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Neither approach prevents tracking through links you click. Apple says Mail Privacy Protection does not extend to links or attachments, including PDFs (Apple’s iPhone Mail privacy guide). These controls address image-based tracking, not every way a sender or service may measure activity.
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Change the setting in each mail app you use
Mail privacy settings are often specific to an app or platform. If you read the same mailbox in a browser, on a phone, and in a desktop client, check each one separately.
Gmail on the web
- Open Gmail in a web browser and select Settings, then See all settings.
- Under General, find Images and select Ask before displaying external images.
- Save changes at the bottom of the page if Gmail presents that button.
With this option, Gmail warns before loading remote images. You can display images for an individual message or choose to always display images from a trusted domain. Privacy International documents this route, but its guide was last modified September 8, 2025; check Gmail’s current interface if labels have moved. The route applies to Gmail on the web, not automatically to every Gmail app or third-party client (Privacy International’s email-tracking guide).
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Apple Mail on iPhone
- Open Settings and tap Apps, then Mail.
- Tap Privacy Protection.
- Turn on Protect Mail Activity.
Apple says Limit IP Address Tracking must be enabled for Protect Mail Activity. This setting privately fetches remote content; it is not a block that prevents all image downloads. See Apple’s current instructions for Mail privacy protection on iPhone.
Apple Mail on Mac
Choose Mail > Settings > Privacy. You can choose between private fetching and blocking remote content:
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- Protect Mail Activity: Mail privately fetches remote content in the background and hides your IP address. Apple says the fetch happens whether or not you engage with the message. It routes the request through two relays so neither relay has both your IP address and the third-party mail content. Apple’s documentation says the feature “helps protect your privacy by preventing email senders, including Apple, from learning information about your Mail activity.” Apple explains Mail Privacy Protection.
- Block All Remote Content: To use this, turn off Protect Mail Activity, then select Block All Remote Content. Mail will not download remote content until you choose to allow it. You can separately leave Hide IP Address on.
Apple cautions that network settings can affect IP hiding: if Limit IP Address Tracking is disabled for Wi-Fi or Ethernet, your IP address may not be hidden from senders. Apple’s Mac instructions are at Change Privacy settings in Mail on Mac.
Outlook for iOS and Android
- Open Outlook’s settings in the mobile app.
- Turn on Block External Images.
Microsoft documents this option for viewing email in Outlook mobile’s reading pane. It blocks externally hosted images, not images embedded as attachments; it also does not apply while composing or replying. Do not assume the same control or behavior in Outlook for desktop or the web. See Microsoft’s Outlook mobile instructions.
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Mozilla Thunderbird
- Open Settings and select Privacy & Security.
- Disable Allow remote content in messages.
Thunderbird will warn when a message contains remote content. You can allow it for an individual message or whitelist a trusted domain. Privacy International documents these steps in its guide, last modified September 8, 2025; confirm current labels in your version of Thunderbird (Privacy International’s email-tracking guide).
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If your app offers both approaches, the choice is between withholding remote images and loading them in a way intended to obscure your activity:
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- Keep Information Privacy: Effective "black out" privacy from side views outside the 60-degree viewing angle. Designed for optical clarity when viewing from the front, a person not at the front of the screen can only see the dark side of the screen, so it protects buisness secrets and personal privacy
- Eye and Screen Protection: Privacy filter does not only protect your private life but also protects your eyes by blocking 30% of blue light , blocking the harmful blue light between 380 - 495nm, it filters out the blue light and relieves eye strain. Our laptop privacy screen also helps keep your screen safe from dust and scratches
- Perfect For Open Workspaces: Great for maintaining screen privacy in high traffic areas such as open work spaces, airports, airplanes, commuter trains, coffee shops and other public places, etc
- Easy Installation: Choose between 2 simple Options; Slide-On/Off or Mounted. Not touchscreen compatible
- Block remote content when you want to prevent image requests unless you allow them. This may leave a message’s images hidden until you make a choice.
- Use Apple Mail’s Protect Mail Activity if you prefer remote content to load privately in the background rather than be blocked. Because Mail fetches content regardless of whether you engage with a message, the fetch alone is less informative to the sender.
For messages from senders you trust, Gmail and Thunderbird document options to allow images for that message or a trusted domain. Allowing a domain is more convenient, but it means remote images from that domain can load.
What these settings do not cover
- Links: A sender may be able to measure a click through a tracked link. Image blocking does not prevent that request; Apple explicitly excludes links from Mail Privacy Protection.
- Attachments: Apple says its protection does not extend to attachments. Outlook mobile’s Block External Images setting also does not block images embedded as attachments.
- Other apps and devices: A change in one mail client does not necessarily change settings in another client that accesses the same mailbox.
- Every form of tracking: Remote-image controls reduce image-based open tracking; they are not a guarantee that email activity is untracked.
Legal context depends on location and purpose
CNIL’s May 2026 English courtesy translation discusses France’s Data Protection Act and related GDPR processing. It says some uses of email pixels require recipient consent and discusses limited purposes that may be exempt, including certain security and deliverability cases. It is guidance for professionals, not a universal rule for every jurisdiction; CNIL says the French original prevails if the translation conflicts (CNIL recommendation on email tracking pixels).
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