Posted on 02/12/2014 6:07:13 PM PST by Windflier
If 'read receipts' on emails weren't annoying enough, a San Francisco-based firm has taken the art of tracking emails to the next level.
The Streak plugin lets Gmail account holders monitor which of their sent items have been opened, who opened them, the exact time they were opened and how many times those emails have been viewed since.
It also reveals details about the device used to read the email, and even the reader's approximate location.
Streak is aimed at sales and marketing professionals, and the company calls it a 'Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) in your inbox.'
However, the plugin can be installed by anyone using Gmail on Google Chrome and Safari.
Aside from tracking emails, the plugin can also track stories and keywords, and keep track of bookings made as part of a wedding or other event.
Once installed, users can set Streak's Email Tracking function to be enabled by default and each time they send an email, Streak will automatically track it.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The plugin is designed to be used by the person doing the email tracking, not by his email recipients, who may or may not be using Gmail.
The plugin is part of a larger system designed to turn Gmail into a CRM application. See streak.com.
Demo of Streak email tracking:
It should be possible to screen for emails with these embedded tracking links, based on the image server's URL in the links. Someone should compile a list of these URLs, as well as senders, and then distribute them similar to Adblock filter subscriptions. I personally don't want to see any emails of this sort, unless I've whitelisted them. This filtering functionality could be incorporated into Spamassassin et. al. And regarding personal "return-receipt" type functionality embedded like in the article, I don't want to see them either. Emails from boss? No, problem, I don't have a boss.
Regarding exposure of your IP address when opening any remote image, that really is a problem. It strongly argues for going through a proxy of some kind or functionality like gmail has (although then you get all the Goggle tracking).
Virtually EVERY e-mail client or web mail system includes an option to not view images with e-mail.
There is NOTHING unique about gmail in having an option to block images, including one-pixel “web bugs.” Everyone has that. Everyone. The only question is whether or not that “feature” it turned on to show images, or turned off to not show images, by DEFAULT.
Sometimes it is not set for best privacy and the user has to take responsibility himself or herself and turn off images.
As to the problem you cite, tracking, “although then you get all the Goggle tracking” — that is the reason to use other e-mail and not gmail.
If the recipient is not using Gmail.... There’s no way that Gmail is tracking any activity on the account without the user being aware and involved.
Well we all know its about money.
Everyone agrees with what you're saying there -- no new information. I want to filter out emails containing web bugs whether or not I am displaying remote images.
But as has been shown, clicking on an embedded link (or showing images by default) reveals information regardless of the recipient's email system.
And so the user is aware and involved. Yes.
Gmail is not doing the tracking. Streak.com is doing the tracking, and Gmail is just the platform they are using to deliver the tracking information to their clients.
If you don't want to be tracked, don't let your email client fetch the web bug images and don't allow your client to honor Return-receipt or DSN requests. If you are using Gmail as your email client, you need to disable automatic image loading and refuse any read-receipt requests (see here for a demo on that). If you are using some other email client, RTFM.
I’m actually not a huge Google fan, I just find it useful for what I need. I would have some concerns about privacy if I used it for illegal activity.
As has been demonstrated by others and was my original point, it is not Gmail that tells readers all this information, it is a third party add on.
I did not use crusade because of your previous posting history, but because of your stated intention to stop corresponding with those with gmail and recommendation that FR policy ban the use of gmail addresses. I was not using crusade in a pejorative sense, it just seemed your stance was quite vigorous and aggressive. I sincerely wish you the best of luck with that.
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