If you're oblivion of email tracking read this article and update yourself.
There are email tracing tools which are legally snooping your email activities even though you haven't clicked any of the links given inside. Without your consent they know when, where, in which device you opened any particular email and it's provided links. Leading this sector are Streak, Yesware, Bananatag, these companies spy on emails you receive from corporates, promotional, job portals or any individual, organization hiring them.
If you want to block pixel tracking completely go for "PixelBlock" also referenced on product hunt and another chrome extension, instead of UglyEmail's submissive approach of just warning you. Any sort of tracking whether email, web surfing activities or online shopping won't disappear anytime soon, instead you might observe manifold increase.
How do they do it?
Companies, Marketers or anybody craving to snoop merely inserts tiny transparent image in email popularly known as pixel tracking. When anyone reads that particular email, the image pings the server it initiated from by details including your location, browser, time, device you used. Its like read receipt which was never signed up. It is completely legal exercise practiced by many companies, even to guide the advertisers from end to end process Google has devoted a support page.
How to Detect?
Email tracking has become mutual exercise adopted by multinational companies. Conversely, to detect such emails "UglyEmail" an effective tool is developed. It starts functioning before you hit anything. Tool notifies you about tracking through an eye icon beside subject heading. UglyEmail doesn't save, transfer or store any details of email account, it solely identifies whether email is tracked or not.
Cons:
- UglyEmail - An extension tool which need to install into Google chrome from it's web store.
- Detects emails which include tracking pixels from Streak, Yesware or Bananatag services only. They're working on adding more such tracking services.
- Currently available only for Google chrome internet browser and Gmail service associated with it. Soon available for safari and firefox web browsers.
- Doesn't prevent from getting tracked tracked, only warns you.
What Next?
Curious to know from which location and IP address the email was sent? Track down from where it came? With the aid of "Trace Email Analyzer Tool" the source of any email can be pursued. Follow beneath meantioned steps:
- Open any particular email which you wish to trace.
- Copy the entire content of header which consist of vital routing information including date, time, recipient, subject, cc and other.
- Skip this step if you know how to extract entire header. Fortunately, email headers are hidden within email revealing mandatory relevant information like Sender's - Recipient's email id, name, subject, date and time. Detailed original header is hidden which you'll find when clicked on down arrow next to "Reply "tab and select "Original Header". Copy whole text inside header.
- Google "Trace Email Analyzer", you'll encounter may websites like iptrackeronline.com, whatismyipaddress.com, mxtoolbox.com and similar, choose any site preferable to you and paste the copied script of header inside provided tool and run the program.
- Scroll down the site to get conditional aspects like IP address, location, originating company, host name.
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