Email Open Tracking Can Guess a Location, But Experts Say It Is Rarely Accurate

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Email open tracking works by embedding a hidden image in a message; when the email is opened, the recipient's IP address is logged and matched to a geographic database. However, that IP address often belongs to a mail provider's server, a mobile carrier's aggregation point, or a VPN, rather than the recipient's actual device. This means the city shown on a tracking map frequently reflects a data centre or network hub, not where the person physically read the email. Privacy tools and VPNs, now enabled by default on many platforms, further obscure the true origin of the request. Experts note that email tracking can reliably indicate only approximate country-level location at best, and recipients have not consented to sharing even that limited data.

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