Apple recently announced that Apple Mail, which is used to read nearly 50% of all emails, will soon enable Mail Privacy Protection which stops senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user. The new feature helps users prevent senders from knowing when they open an email, and masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.
DuckDuckGo, another popular privacy-centric search service, announced Email Protection which is a free forwarding service that strips tracking pixels from your emails with the aim of shielding your personal data.
With 70% of emails containing trackers, it seems the system has been overused to the point where it will soon be made obsolete. Your best option is to lay the foundation now for relying on product engagement. Use customer actions to infer intent and use that intent to personalize their experience on the site or, even email.