How does Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affect the tracking of email opens and clicks, and how are machine opens categorized?

Summary

Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) significantly disrupts email tracking by pre-loading emails, leading to inflated and unreliable open rates. This pre-loading masks IP addresses and limits device-specific data, hindering location-based targeting. While MPP affects open rates, click tracking remains largely unaffected. Categorizing MPP-driven opens is complex, as they are server-side fetches, not device-specific interactions. To mitigate these impacts, email marketers are advised to shift focus from open rates to engagement metrics like clicks, conversions, and website traffic. Emphasizing subscriber-centric data, enhancing data privacy, and utilizing preference centers and progressive profiling are crucial for future-proofing email marketing strategies in the post-MPP landscape.

Key findings

  • Inflated Open Rates: MPP causes inaccurate open rates due to automatic email pre-loading.
  • Limited Device/Location Data: MPP masks IP addresses, hindering location tracking and limiting device-specific data.
  • Clicks Unaffected: MPP does not directly affect click tracking as clicks are user-initiated.
  • Complex Machine Open Categorization: MPP-driven opens are HTTP fetches, making accurate device categorization challenging.

Key considerations

  • Shift to Engagement Metrics: Focus on clicks, conversions, and website traffic to gauge campaign effectiveness.
  • Emphasize Subscriber Data: Leverage subscriber-provided and zero-party data for better targeting.
  • Enhance Data Privacy: Prioritize data privacy practices to maintain trust and compliance.
  • Implement Preference Centers: Use preference centers for explicit user preferences and improved segmentation.
  • Re-evaluate Automation: Adapt automation based on metrics less affected by MPP, such as clicks and website activity

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) significantly impacts email marketing by affecting the reliability of open rates due to pre-loading of emails. While MPP inflates open rates and complicates device/location tracking, it doesn't directly impact click tracking. Email marketers are advised to shift focus towards alternative engagement metrics (clicks, conversions, website traffic) and leverage subscriber-centric and owned data for improved targeting and campaign success. Understanding customer preferences and enhancing data privacy practices are key to adapting to the post-MPP landscape.

Key opinions

  • Open Rate Inflation: MPP inflates open rates by pre-loading emails, making this metric unreliable for gauging true engagement.
  • Device/Location Data Impact: MPP makes it more difficult to accurately determine device and location data based on opens.
  • Clicks Unaffected: MPP does not directly impact click tracking, as clicks are recorded upon user interaction with links.
  • Proxy Categorization Issues: Tools counting MPP machine opens as solely 'desktop' or 'mobile' are likely inaccurate, as these opens are server-side HTTP fetches.

Key considerations

  • Shift to Engagement Metrics: Focus on metrics like clicks, website visits, conversion rates, and social engagement to measure campaign success.
  • Leverage Subscriber Data: Emphasize subscriber-centric and owned data (zero/first-party data) to improve targeting and personalization.
  • Data Privacy: Enhance data privacy practices to build trust with subscribers in the evolving privacy landscape.
  • Re-evaluate Automation Triggers: Adjust automated email flows to be based on metrics other than open rates to ensure correct user journey.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that Apple's MPP impacts the reliability of open rates. Because Apple Mail will preload all emails, even if a user doesn't open them, it can inflate open rates and make it harder to gauge true engagement.

September 2021 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot responds that marketers should focus more on other engagement metrics like clicks, website visits, and conversions to gauge campaign success. They also recommend segmenting and targeting based on these metrics.

January 2025 - HubSpot
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that clicks work differently than image requests. They are not going through those image proxies and it highly depends what the browser / device does with those requests. You are more likely to identify the device, but note that Apple and others also have security / privacy features there, which might route browser requests through proxies or privateVPN type set ups

September 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from SuperOffice shares that they will be focusing on metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, website traffic from email campaigns, and social media engagement to gauge email marketing success.

May 2023 - SuperOffice
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that the future of email marketing relies on subscriber-centric data. Open rates provide information but more information on preferences will improve targeting.

August 2022 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection emphasizes the need to focus on owned data, so focusing on zero and first party data will give you information you can trust.

February 2024 - ActiveCampaign
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that MPP primarily affects open rates, making them less accurate. It also impacts the ability to reliably determine device and location data based on opens.

May 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Uplers explains that MPP impacts open rates, location tracking, and device information. The inflated open rates will skew A/B testing results and automated email flows triggered by opens.

September 2021 - Email Uplers
Marketer view

Email marketer from GMass explains that both MPP and Gmail’s image proxy pre-load images and therefore “open” emails. The difference is, Gmail’s image proxy has been around for years, and good email marketers have adjusted to account for that reality. MPP has just exacerbated the problem.

June 2023 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from Validity shares that future-proofing email programs post-MPP involves a deeper understanding of customer preferences, enhanced data privacy practices, and an emphasis on engagement beyond the open.

April 2024 - Validity
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit states that Apple Mail Privacy Protection does not directly impact click tracking. Clicks are recorded when a user interacts with a link in the email, which MPP does not interfere with.

September 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that what they are counted as highly depends on the tool being used. They are technically http fetches from a server to your server, so they are not coming from any device. Any tool which is counting them as “Desktop” or “mobile” is doing it wrong. (This also applies to other proxies; Gmail, Yahoo etc; there are well known solutions out there which try to group them into mobile and desktop as well; they are also doing it wrong)

October 2023 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts indicate that Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) impacts email open tracking by pre-loading images through a proxy, thus inflating open rates and reducing their reliability. HTTP referer information doesn't explicitly categorize opens as mobile or desktop, leaving categorization to the tracking mechanism, resulting in a mix. MPP sanitizes headers, potentially limiting information to differentiate between mobile and desktop opens. While MPP primarily affects open rates, clicks remain largely unaffected as they originate from the user's browser. To mitigate MPP's impact, experts advise focusing on engagement metrics like clicks and purchases, adjusting automation triggers accordingly, and utilizing preference centers to gather explicit user preferences.

Key opinions

  • Impact on Open Rates: MPP inflates open rates due to pre-loading images via a proxy.
  • HTTP Referer Inconsistencies: HTTP referer info doesn't explicitly state mobile or desktop, requiring the tracking mechanism to categorize machine opens.
  • Header Sanitization: Apple proxy sanitizes headers, limiting the ability to differentiate between mobile and desktop opens.
  • Clicks Largely Unaffected: Clicks originate from the user's browser and are generally not affected by MPP.

Key considerations

  • Focus on Engagement Metrics: Prioritize engagement based on user actions like clicks and purchases over open rates.
  • Adjust Automation Triggers: Modify automation and triggers to rely on clicks and web activity instead of open rates.
  • Utilize Preference Centers: Implement preference centers to gather explicit user preferences and improve targeting.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that the headers are sanitized by the apple proxy, so there may not be enough information to choose between mobile and desktop (unless you’re doing something fancy with css to track?). It might make sense for the service to categorize them in their own group, neither mobile nor desktop.

June 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that clicks are going to come from the users browser rather than their MUA, so MPP won’t really affect them. Other privacy preserving proxies might well, though.

March 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Apple Mail Privacy Protection impacts email metrics by loading images through a proxy. All of the images will be loaded, whether or not the recipient opens the message and it greatly diminishes the usefulness of open rates as a metric.

February 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise suggests that to mitigate the effects of Apple MPP marketers should focus on engagement based on user actions such as clicks and purchases, relying less on open rates. Adjust automations and triggers to be based on clicks and web activity rather than opens. Make use of preference centers to get more explicit preferences from users

May 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that in the HTTP referer info, it doesn’t explicitly say mobile or desktop, so it’s up to the tracking mechanism to identify them and decide how to categorize. They’re going to be a mix of mobile and desktop but probably the vast majority will be mobile.

December 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Documentation indicates that Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) significantly impacts email tracking by pre-loading emails, resulting in inflated open rates as emails are marked as opened even if the recipient doesn't interact with them. MPP masks IP addresses, hindering location-based targeting and limiting device-specific data. Consequently, documentation suggests shifting the focus from open rates to alternative engagement metrics such as clicks and conversions, and employing strategies like preference centers and progressive profiling for more accurate campaign measurement and targeting.

Key findings

  • Inflated Open Rates: MPP pre-loads emails, causing all emails to be counted as opened, regardless of user interaction.
  • IP Address Masking: MPP hides user's IP address, preventing accurate location tracking.
  • Limited Device Data: Device-specific data is restricted, impacting device-based campaign optimization.

Key considerations

  • Shift to Engagement Metrics: Prioritize clicks, conversions, and other engagement metrics over open rates.
  • Implement Preference Centers: Use preference centers to gather direct user preferences for improved targeting.
  • Employ Progressive Profiling: Utilize progressive profiling to collect user data gradually and ethically.
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost responds that marketers need to shift their focus from open rates to clicks, conversions, and other engagement metrics to measure success. Implementing strategies like preference centers and progressive profiling is important.

September 2022 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from Apple shares that Mail Privacy Protection hides a user's IP address so it can’t be linked to their other online activity or used to determine their location. It also prevents senders from seeing if they’ve opened their email.

July 2023 - Apple
Technical article

Documentation from Sendgrid explains that MPP works by pre-loading all emails in the Apple Mail app, effectively opening the email on behalf of the user. This means that even if the recipient doesn't actually open the email, it will be counted as an open.

September 2024 - Sendgrid
Technical article

Documentation from Oracle explains that with MPP, IP addresses are masked, preventing location-based targeting. Device-specific data is limited, making it difficult to optimize campaigns based on the devices recipients use.

January 2025 - Oracle