How can I check if an e-mail was opened?

Question

I'm looking for a reliable way to check if user opened an e-mail which I sent to him. I know I can use some images generated by PHP script (and save client headers / data on server-side), but my question is - is this reliable? Some web clients have disabled images by default, I'm not sure about proxy severs, BlackBerry etc...

So - Is there a good and reliable solutions to this problem?

Thanks.

Sensorium

All the email clients I use from Outlook to Gmail block these content downloads by default, so I would say no. – Carlist

dont know how but mailchimp.com can report the open/read count, all solutions use dynamic images (1x1 pixel), ask-leo.com/… – Copp

The only thing mailchimp can do, is to track the clicks made by the user and of course the downloads of their images. But if you disable images and do not click on the first link you see in an email, there is nothing they can track. One more thing: Even if someone knows I opened the mail this doesn't mean I read it. – Heilman

possible duplicate of Track mass email campaigns – Handbarrow

Answer 1

There is no reliable solution (and I'm glad there isn't). If the user only views your mail as text then nothing (besides the mail itself) gets downloaded or anything like that.

Heilman

Answer 2

The one and only solution unfortunately doesn't exisist. Some email service providers use a tracking pixel, some use an external css file, some track images + clicks, some track the request of any image within the email, some even try to incorporate nifty tags like bgsound. And some do it all combined.

The only ones who can report real open rates are those who have direct access to the users inboxes: the internet service providers themselves and software providers who develop apps and plug-ins for gmail, outlook, & co. Some of them report real open rates to marketers. Like Mail.ru, OtherInbox, and eDataSource. But for obvious reasons, this all isn't perfect either.

Supervisor

Answer 3

Just setting up Mailgun for my system and it seems the only way they report opens is by embedding a tiny image that when user clicks 'display images' gets downloaded and indicates an opened email. Also if there are links within the email, you can record visits to those links, also indicating opens. If the user does none of those, then you will never know. I think it's alright since I am also a user of emails and I want to be able to maintain my privacy if I wish. I wouldn't count on this changing any time soon.

Outwit