Reflecting on Apple's 2021 Mail Privacy Updates: The Open-Rate Killer

It’s been two years since Apple’s June 2021 update that caused a major shake-up for email marketing campaigns. As Apple began to place restrictions on its own privacy settings and email tracking, it had a ripple effect on how businesses measure the success of their email campaigns.

Reflecting on Apple's 2021 Mail Privacy Updates: The Open-Rate Killer
AndreW Zamora
September 6, 2023
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News

What the update changed

Apple's new Mail Privacy Protection update  introduced significant changes to the email marketing landscape. With the goal of protecting users' privacy, the feature enabled users to choose to protect their mail activity from being tracked. While this was a welcome move for individuals concerned about online privacy, it posed several challenges for email marketers. One of the key implications of the update was its impact on tracking open rates. Previously, tracking pixels embedded in emails allowed marketers to monitor when recipients opened their emails. However, with Mail Privacy Protection, Apple Mail users can now prevent these invisible pixels from loading, Making open rate tracking ineffective. Since then, marketers have had to adjust their strategies to fit the new reality.

Why did Apple update it's privacy settings in the first place, and what else was affected?

Apple was trying to ensure that their users were better protected from “data mining, surveillance, and other malicious activities”. This led to blocking email tracking services from collecting data like IP addresses, device type, browser versions and more. One important metric that was affected is the click-to-open rate (CTOR). Since Mail Privacy Protection blocks tracking pixels, email marketers are not able to accurately track individual opens and clicks. As a result, calculating the CTOR, which measures the effectiveness of the email content in engaging recipients, became more challenging.

Forward tracking is another area impacted by the update. With Mail Privacy Protection enabled, tracking whether recipients forward the email to others or share it became difficult. This reduced the ability to measure the reach and effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing through email.

The update also affects send time optimization. Mail service providers often use data on recipients' online activity and IP addresses to optimize the timing of email delivery. However, with the privacy feature, such data is blocked, making it harder to determine the most suitable time to send emails for maximum engagement.

It’s clear there were pros and cons to the policy. On the one hand, it helps protect people’s data from potential risks. On the other, it has significantly impacted how campaigns are measured.

How email marketers kept their campaign strategies effective

Fortunately, there are other metrics that marketers have used to measure email campaigns. Click-through rates, unsubscribe rate, and user engagement can be used to judge an email’s success instead of relying solely on open rates.

For new marketers entering the field, here are some tips for success in 2023:

1. Focus on the user experience. Cultivate relationships with your subscribers by providing them with valuable content that resonates with them.

2. Adapt quickly. Monitor the successes of your campaigns and tailor them accordingly.

3. Personalize emails by segmenting your subscribers and crafting clear call-to-actions for each group.

4. Leverage automation tools to succeed in inboxes and measure campaign performance.

Wrapping up the article

Overall, Apple’s 2021 update forced marketers to step up their game and focus on more reliable methods than open rate tracking. With the right strategies and tactics in place, 2023 could be the year email campaigns reach new heights.