[andreyf]

"1x1 transparent pixel" is called a "tracking pixel".

Gmail still allows marketers to track when a user opens an email (even better than before, since it no longer asks users whether they want to load images). However, they proxy the request so that the tracking pixel host no longer gets the user's IP address or third party cookies.

[nileshtrivedi]

Where can I read more about this? Doesn't this help spammers? I thought I was safe if I disable auto-loading of images!

[andrewguenther]

Then don't open spam? I don't think a spam email has made it to my inbox in almost 5 years. Google's proxy protects your private data and only informs the sender that the email has been opened. I would hardly call that "unsafe"

[ZoF]

You're safe either way, but if you have autoloading disabled they still can't track that you've read until you load the images.

The change is that clicking to load images is no longer the default [0]

Do you get enough spam on your Gmail for this to be a worry point? Genuinely curious; I get roughly zero.

[0]http://www.wired.com/2013/12/turn-gmail-auto-image-loading-o...

[noja]

> You're safe either way

Eh? Before they used track-me.example.com/IDHERE and got blocked, now they use IDHERE.track-me.example.com and don't get blocked.

Move the unique ID to DNS and Google will let it through.

[ZoF]

I assumed by safe you meant something else.

Yes if you load images they can track that you have opened the email.

I fail to see how that is 'unsafe' though. It's expected functionality.

[noja]

It's expected that they can track you, when before they blocked the images to prevent that?