Many emails are built to report back to the sender when you open them. This guide explains what PrMail does to stop that, what it can't catch, and how your IP address is kept out of the emails you send.
Your IP address isn't in emails you send
Desktop and mobile email apps often add your IP address to the headers of messages you send. PrMail webmail sends mail from our servers on your behalf, so your device's IP address isn't added to the message. The recipient only sees our mail servers in the headers.
PrMail also doesn't add tracking pixels to emails you send or rewrite your links. The recipient gets what you wrote, plus your signature if you've set one.
Tracking pixels
A tracking pixel is a tiny, usually invisible image. When your email app loads it, the sender's server learns that you opened the email, when, roughly where you are (from your IP address) and what you're using to read it.
On the Low and Medium privacy levels, PrMail removes images that look like trackers before you see the email:
- Images set to 1×1 pixel.
- Images hidden with
display: none. - Images from known tracking services, including Mailchimp, SendGrid, Mandrill, HubSpot, Pardot, Marketo, ConvertKit and Amazon SES, and image addresses containing
pixel.,track.orbeacon..
The number of trackers removed is shown in the email's Trust info.
No filter catches everything. On Low, normal images still load from the sender's servers, and an unrecognised tracker can still report back. Medium (the default) blocks all remote images, so nothing loads from the sender at all. See Privacy Levels.
Remote fonts
Fonts loaded from services like Google Fonts or Typekit also reveal your IP address to the font server. On Low and Medium, PrMail removes:
@font-facerules in the email's styles.- Google Fonts and Typekit font links.
@importrules that load fonts.
Font choices in the email are replaced with your device's own system fonts, so emails still look tidy without contacting any font server.
On High, all formatting is removed, so there are no images or fonts to load.
Tracking in links
Links in marketing emails often carry tracking codes. PrMail's link defanger removes common ones, shows where shortened links really go, and warns about suspicious links. See Link Defanger.