How does Apple Mail Privacy impact IP warmup strategy and open rate tracking?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Validity Blog advises that, with Apple Mail Privacy Protection, IP warming requires a different approach. Focus on sending highly targeted emails to engaged subscribers, which increases positive signals. They also suggest monitoring complaint rates and spam trap hits to detect deliverability issues early.
Email marketer from Stackoverflow recommends that when warming IPs you should make sure you do not rely on Open rates. Instead implement proper feedback loops and monitor blocklists. If you see no issues here you can continue to ramp up volumes.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that Apple Mail Privacy Protection has made open rates less reliable during IP warm-up. Focus on sending engaging content to a clean list. Clicks, conversions, and low unsubscribe rates are the new metrics to watch during the warm-up period.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests still measuring opens. Open rates on Apple devices are misleading per send, but they can still track trends across time. Tracking open rates can still be the canary in the coal mine if you are starting to have issues with deliverability.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog shares that Apple Mail Privacy Protection skews open rate data, making it unreliable for gauging campaign performance and deliverability during IP warm-up. Focus on other metrics such as click-through rates, website visits, and conversion rates to assess engagement and guide IP warming efforts.
Email marketer from Email Uplers Blog shares that Apple Mail Privacy Protection necessitates a shift in email marketing measurement. While open rates are compromised, marketers should prioritize click-through rates, conversion rates, and website traffic to understand subscriber engagement and optimize IP warming strategies.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid suggests that you must adapt to the changing landscape that AMPP has brought. Open rates are skewed so need to be considered when looking at IP warmup. Focus on metrics like CTOR and Conversions.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) doesn't fundamentally change IP warming strategies. Focus should remain on consistent sending volume, good list hygiene, and engaging content. While open rates are less reliable, engagement metrics like clicks and conversions become more important indicators of deliverability during the warmup process.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares it depends on what you measure, if you want to know how many people opened your emails, it's a waste of time, but if you want to identify overall trends and spot outliers or issues it still makes sense.
Email marketer from Gmass Blog states that Apple Mail Privacy Protection makes traditional open rate tracking unreliable. IP warming strategies should focus on building a healthy sender reputation by ensuring subscribers genuinely want your emails and that you’re not sending unwanted email. Look at unsubscribes to measure this.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that with Apple's new privacy features, including MPP, that marketers need to be aware that open rates will now be inflated. It is more important now to focus on click through rates and conversions as a KPI during IP warming.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Apple Mail Privacy Protection has made opens worthless as a metric. They suggest focusing on establishing a good sending reputation through authenticated email and good list hygiene. Warming IPs should continue, but open rates are no longer a valuable signal for deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that IP warming should follow the usual methodology even with Apple Mail Privacy. Measuring opens will be a false metric, but it should still be done to monitor trends over time, keeping in mind that it may be inflated and difficult to use for determining spam folder placement based on open rates alone.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Litmus explains that Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) impacts open rates, inflating them because Apple Mail automatically loads remote content. During IP warm-up, this can make it difficult to gauge engagement. Litmus advises using a blend of metrics: click-through rates, conversion data, and placement in the inbox (vs. spam) using seed testing.
Documentation from Microsoft suggests that the impact of Apple Mail Privacy Protection is minimal. Good engagement is still key and will help inbox placement and sender reputation. They suggest that you should continue to monitor bounce rates and spam complaints.
Documentation from Mailchimp explains Apple Mail Privacy Protection impacts reported open rates. Because of this during IP warmup, Mailchimp recommends focusing on engagement metrics like click-through rates, purchase data, and website activity to measure subscriber interest. Also, monitor bounce and unsubscribe rates to understand list health.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates due to pre-fetching images, including tracking pixels. This makes open rates an inaccurate metric for measuring engagement during IP warming. SparkPost recommends monitoring sender reputation, bounce rates, and complaint rates as alternative indicators of deliverability.