How accurate is email client market share data when Apple Mail intentionally opens messages?

Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates because it pre-loads all emails, even if the user doesn't open them. This makes open rates an unreliable metric for Apple Mail users.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that Apple's MPP skews open rates by automatically opening emails through a proxy server, making it difficult to accurately measure genuine user engagement. They suggest focusing on other metrics like clicks and conversions.

Email marketer from Email on Acid notes that Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection has made A/B testing based on open rates unreliable. They recommend marketers shift focus to click-based metrics and other engagement signals for A/B testing.

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that the introduction of Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) means open rates are less reliable. They suggest focusing on other engagement metrics such as click-through rates and conversions to measure campaign success. They suggest exploring new ways to personalize emails to reach users.

Email marketer from SuperOffice explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection can make open rates a vanity metric. They recommend that marketers place less importance on open rates and more on metrics that show real engagement like website clicks and goal conversions.

Marketer from Email Geeks agrees with Marcel Becker's assessment that a large percentage of opens come from Apple devices due to Apple intentionally opening messages with their automations.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that Apple’s MPP has changed email marketing and open rates are not as reliable. They suggest focusing on metrics such as click-through rates, website traffic, and conversions to gauge success.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that email client market share measurements using image downloads are inaccurate. Additionally, 3rd party email apps with their own spam filters will add to mailbox provider filters if enabled. Only Apple Mail for MacOS offers client side filters, not iOS. Also, open events from Apple Mail users cannot be determined if true or not, as well as which application was actually used.

Email marketer from Sendinblue discusses Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) and its significant impact on email marketing metrics. They highlight that MPP inflates open rates due to the automatic loading of images through a proxy server, making it difficult to accurately assess user engagement.

Expert from Word to the Wise discusses that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection has resulted in inflated open rates, making it harder to accurately track user engagement. They suggest marketers should consider using click-through rates, conversion rates, and other metrics to assess email performance.

Expert from SpamResource suggests that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) has significantly distorted open rates, making them a less reliable metric for gauging email engagement and requiring marketers to re-evaluate their strategies.

Documentation from the UK Information Commissioner's Office discusses the implications of email tracking under GDPR and PECR, noting that obtaining consent for tracking pixels is essential, a challenge given privacy features like Apple's MPP.

Documentation from Apple details that Mail Privacy Protection hides a user's IP address and prevents senders from knowing if an email has been opened. This feature is designed to enhance user privacy, but it impacts the accuracy of open rate tracking.

Documentation from MDN Web Docs explains tracking pixels, including their use in emails, and highlights the increasing privacy concerns and measures taken by email clients like Apple Mail to limit their effectiveness.