Email tracking is changing: your ability to communicate effectively shouldn’t have to.
For years, open tracking has helped businesses understand how recipients interact with their emails. But as privacy requirements evolve, knowing whether an email has been opened is no longer just a question of technology. It’s also a question of consent.
We know that for businesses sending thousands of emails every day, managing that distinction matters.
Open tracking and consent: what you need to know
Open tracking typically relies on tracking pixels: small, invisible images embedded in emails that can register when a message is opened. While this technology has long been a standard part of email analytics, its use may require recipients’ consent under applicable privacy regulations. The Italian Data Protection Authority has also addressed the use of tracking pixels in emails, highlighting the importance of transparency and compliance with data protection requirements.
Importantly, consent to receive emails and consent to track their opening are two separate matters. Recipients can withdraw their consent to tracking without necessarily stopping the emails they receive. As a sender, you’re responsible for identifying the appropriate legal basis, providing the required information, and managing consent and withdrawal requests where applicable.
This creates a practical challenge for businesses: how can you continue tracking email engagement where permitted, without applying the same tracking settings to every recipient?
The answer lies in having greater control over how tracking is applied and TurboSMTP is already equipped to support your compliance needs.
At TurboSMTP, we believe that respecting recipients’ privacy shouldn’t make email communication more complicated. That’s why our platform gives you the flexibility to enable or disable open tracking at both account and subaccount level. This allows you to organize your email sending based on recipients’ tracking consent, keeping messages that require tracking separate from those that don’t. If you need to send both tracked and untracked emails, you can use separate subaccounts, each with its own open tracking settings.
The result? You can continue using open tracking where appropriate, while maintaining the flexibility to send emails without it.
No need to choose between respecting privacy preferences and keeping your email communication running.
More control, without unnecessary complexity
Whether you’re managing transactional emails, business communications, or marketing campaigns, different recipients may have different tracking preferences. With TurboSMTP, you can configure your sending environment accordingly, rather than relying on a single tracking setting for all your emails.
Disabling open tracking doesn’t mean losing visibility into email delivery. Delivery and bounce events are still recorded and available in TurboSMTP, so you can continue monitoring whether your messages reach their destination.
It’s a straightforward way to support consent-based tracking practices while maintaining control over your email operations and because the functionality is already available within TurboSMTP: you don’t need to wait for a future update to start using it.
Privacy-conscious email starts with the right tools
Regulatory requirements will continue to evolve, but one principle remains essential: businesses need the flexibility to adapt their email practices without compromising their ability to communicate.
TurboSMTP provides the technical controls to help you manage open tracking in line with recipients’ consent preferences.
Keep your emails flowing, with tracking only where appropriate.
Want to learn more?
Discover how open tracking works in TurboSMTP and how to manage your tracking settings.
Watch the video →