No To Spy Pixels
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Last month, I created No To Spy Pixels. It’s a project with two goals:
- Raise awareness about tracking pixels in emails and the privacy issues they present
- Encourage UK residents to raise complaints with companies that track them without consent
The more I reflect on it, the weirder I think it is that this data is collected when most recipients are completely unaware. They might suspect senders know whether an email has been opened, but what about the time and location of each open? Even after they unsubscribe?
As someone who works in tech, the weirdness didn’t truly strike me until I started talking to people who don’t work in this sector. They are genuinely shocked to find out that this kind of information is collected and stored.
I recently raised this with my bank and they called to discuss the complaint. The complaints manager told me they were incredibly surprised by what they’d learned through the complaint and would be making changes in their personal email use.
As someone who runs a business and has had several mailing lists, I’ve used tracking pixels before. But like many people, I didn’t use the data for anything nefarious.
In fact, I only really wanted to know two things in aggregate:
- Open rates
- Which links were clicked
But there are ways to measure an email’s impact without tracking users. If that’s the case, why collect the data at all?
Companies and list owners have a responsibility to be transparent about data collection, however that data is or isn’t used. If that’s uncomfortable, there’s an opportunity to explore other options for collecting the metrics they need.
List and email service providers have a responsibility, too. Tracking is usually turned on by default and writing about trackers is framed around terms like ‘insights’ and ‘analytics’.
They have an undeniable role to play in educating list owners about what happens to enable that tracking and the privacy implications.
As I wrote last year:
Many of us don’t like the idea of our data being harvested, yet we’re happy to track users because money.
So, in some downtime late last year I moved all of my newsletters to a platform that allows me to turn off analytics and tracking completely. Migrating lists is always work, but it was totally worth it.
This is a complicated topic, not least because the use of tracking pixels is so widespread and has gone on for so long. But by making noise about it we can – as David Heinemeier Hansson put it – “literally help change the internet”.
Next steps
If you’re unhappy about the use of spy pixels, here are some steps to take:
- Spread the word about No To Spy Pixels
- If a company is tracking your emails and didn’t ask for permission, ask them to stop.
- If you’re unhappy with their response, file a complaint with the ICO
More detail on all of this is available at notospypixels.com.
If you run a list, think about:
- How valuable is the data you collect?
- Are recipients aware this data is being collected?
- Have they given consent?
- Are there other ways you can gauge an email’s value?
- Is it possible to collect the data you need in aggregate?
Perhaps consider switching to a platform that lets you turn analytics off, such as Buttondown or Mailchimp (you can disable open tracking and/or click tracking).
I’m always up for discussing this topic – so feel free to hit reply and we can have a chat.
Absorbing
Interesting links from the web.
Why I’m losing faith in UX
A great piece on the state of UX from Mark Hurst. As Xiang Chen summarised, UX has roughly followed this trajectory:
- Decade 1: enable customers to do what they want to do
- Decade 2: enable companies do what they want to do
- Decade 3: enable customers to do what companies want them to do
Cal Newport interview
I’m reading Newport’s new book, A World Without Email and came across this excellent interview with Lex Fridman (h/t Laura Parker). It’s a great overview of the principles covered in his books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism.
This email is being tracked
Alex Hern wrote an interesting piece about the privacy implications of publishing on Substack. In particular, how the data Substack collects puts publishers in the unwanted position of being a data controller.
Working
The New Thing™ I mentioned in the last email hasn’t launched yet, but it will soon. Maybe by the next newsletter...
Interested in working together? I have availability from May.
If you have related links that might be of interest, or thoughts on any of these topics, I’d love to hear from you: just hit reply.
Until next time,
Dave