Tracking Gmail Users

You may notice users of Gmail (or the Gmail App) show up as using the the FireFox browser in the Email Tracking. Or they are using a mobile device and it shows up as a Desktop.

This limitation is due to Gmail using proxies for all the images in the email. This includes tracking links making it hard to determine the actual browser in use. TWP, like most programs, uses a user-agent string from the image request to determine the email client. Google shows an identical user agent for all their clients. 

Here are some other interesting links if you wish to learn more about Tracking both Gmail and emails from iPhones.

• Google Email Tracking

  • https://www.sparkpost.com/blog/gmail-prefetching-images/ 

  • https://www.gmass.co/blog/false-opens-in-gmail/

  • https://litmus.com/community/discussions/7943-google-image-proxy-showing-different-user-agent

  • https://sendloop.com/articles/the-effect-of-gmail-image-proxy-to-email-marketers/

  • https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/12/dear-gmailer-i-know-what-you-read-last-summer-and-last-night-and-today/

  • https://www.litmus.com/blog/gmail-adds-image-caching-what-you-need-to-know/

  • https://redant.com.au/how-we-do/cache-busting-gmail-new-image-caching/

• Apple (iPhone) Preventing Email Tracking

  • https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/06/apple-advances-its-privacy-leadership-with-ios-15-ipados-15-macos-monterey-and-watchos-8/

  • https://www.alterian.com/articles/changes-to-apple-privacy/

  • https://www.sparkpost.com/blog/4-insights-on-ios-15-mail-privacy-protection/

• Reasons for High (or Low) open rates:

  • https://support.yet-another-mail-merge.com/hc/en-us/articles/211404189-Your-open-rate-is-unusually-high

  • https://mailchimp.com/help/about-open-tracking/

  • https://emailmate.com/blog/2019/04/email-tracking-not-working/
    https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/gmail-image-caching-open-rates/
    
    

  • https://www.bwf.com/fundraising-email-metrics/?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F