Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the use of Tracking Pixels in connection with the sending of newsletters. Not least after the Danish Data Protection Agency’s criticism of the Danish Growth Fund ‘s use of Tracking Pixels (the Danish Data Protection Agency describes Tracking Pixels as Spy Pixels).
The use of pixels to track whether a user opens the newsletter, or to track which pages a user visits on the website, is neither new nor abnormal. This has been the case for years and it happens on virtually all websites and newsletters. If there is no Tracking Pixel in the newsletter, the system cannot tell how many people open the newsletter. This is the case in all Marketing Automation systems – including MarketingPlatform.
The problem that the Danish Data Protection Agency points out is not that the Danish Growth Fund uses Tracking Pixels, but they criticize that users have not been informed that pixels are used for tracking opening rate and behavior.
The responsibility for compliance with the GDPR rules lies entirely with the company that uses the Marketing Automation system to send out newsletters. So maybe it’s time to double-check that end users accept the use of Tracking Pixels in connection with signing up for your newsletter.
Typically, the information about the use of Tracking Pixels is simply provided by a text on the website in connection with the registration form. The information about tracking can also be part of the terms and conditions or something else that you accept when signing up.
What is a Tracking Pixel?
A tracking pixel is typically a 1×1 pixel graphic that is transparent or otherwise hidden or embedded on a website or in an email. In other words, it is a small image that is placed on web pages, adverts or emails but is invisible to the user.
A Tracking Pixel is unique to each newsletter recipient, so when it is retrieved from the web server, the newsletter system knows that you have opened the newsletter. When you subsequently click on a link in the newsletter, a cookie is stored in your browser and the website then knows who you are and logs which pages you visit. In the case of a webshop, you can also use tracking to save session and which items customers add to their basked.
Do you need help or have questions about Tracking Pixels in MarketingPlatform? Do not hesitate to contact our support team.
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