Learn how to find spy emails on your computer

It is difficult to quantify the number of billions of emails sent every day over the Internet. Emails are everywhere, with parents, friends, social networks and online stores; In short, it’s easier to list activities where there are no emails.

According to some experts, email tracking has reached an “endemic” level among mainstream email senders and, of course, among dreaded spam producers.

Many messages contain tracking pixels — embedded somewhere in the email — that let most senders know if an email is opened. Once the hidden vignette is uploaded, it sends a report to its recipient. And the tools they use to track us continue to become more powerful.

These senders know the times and dates the emails associated with them are opened, as well as the location of the device being used and the email program in question. This is a large amount of data that must be handed over to a legitimate or suspicious foreign company that knows nothing about the use of the collected data.

Knowing your audience or violating privacy?

Marketers will argue that this type of tracking is necessary to understand their audience and get some return on their advertising investments. But on the flip side, it can feel like an invasion of privacy to have an eye roving over your shoulder and noticing every time you open and read a specific email, especially if you don’t know afterwards that it happened.

How to stop email tracking

The easiest way to stop tracking pixels is to prevent images from loading by default in your email app. Your messages will be less attractive to read, but it’s a trade-off worth making if you want to have that level of control.

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In Gmail accounts on the web, you can also limit tracking. Click the gear (top right) > See all settings > General, and under Photos, > select Require confirmation before displaying external photos (this option also disables direct messaging). Scroll down to the bottom of the window to save the change.

Mail on MacOS

In Mail on macOS, choose Mail > Preferences > Viewing and deselect Load remote content in messages. In macOS Sonoma, the latest operating system, you don’t have to go to display, but to secrecy. You’ll have the option to let the app do the sorting by checking Mail Protection Activity, or deselect it to choose to block all remote content down.

Mail on iOS

With the same logic as with macOS, go to the Settings app > Mail > Privacy Protection and make your choice.

Outlook on Win10

In the Outlook mail client that comes with Windows 10, press the gear at the bottom of the Navigation Pane, then select the Reading Pane and make sure that the Automatically download external pictures options are turned off.

Gmail on Android

You’ll find similar settings on your phone. In Gmail for Android or iOS, tap the Menu button (top left), > Settings > Your email account > Photos.

With third party tools

There are free tools like Ugly email (https://uglyemail.com) And soldierextensions for Chrome and Firefox that work with Gmail in your browser.

Add-ons display an icon next to emails from Gmail that contain tracking pixels, even before you open the email itself – you can choose to avoid any messages that contain tracking pixels.

Trocker extension tracks hackers in messages ——

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Trocker, a free Chrome and Firefox browser, works with Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Like ugly email, tracking pixels are blocked and emails containing them will be marked with a small T in the subject header when the message is opened. You can also identify links followed in messages and block them if necessary.

Once these settings and options are complete, your messages will be less visible to overly nosy senders.