{"id":561,"date":"2021-10-27T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graphiclanguage.net\/blog\/?p=561"},"modified":"2021-10-27T00:35:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T00:35:32","slug":"what-apples-mail-privacy-protection-means-for-home-builder-email-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graphiclanguage.net\/blog\/what-apples-mail-privacy-protection-means-for-home-builder-email-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Apple\u2019s Mail Privacy Protection Means for Home Builder Email Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of Apple\u2019s larger initiative to give users more control over the data they share, Apple launched its newest privacy feature on September 20, 2021: Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) which limits email tracking on the native Mail app.<\/p>\n

Predictably, this has left marketers scrambling to understand what MPP is and how it could affect their email marketing programs. We\u2019ll cover everything you need to know and provide tips on how to adjust your email marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

What is the Mail Privacy Protection update?<\/h4>\n

Apple\u2019s Mail Privacy Protection is part of the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey system updates and applies to the native email client. In short, MPP will prevent senders from using tracking pixels that let them know when an email is opened. It will also hide a user\u2019s IP address so it can\u2019t be linked to other online activity or determine a user\u2019s location.<\/p>\n

How does Mail Privacy Protection work?<\/h4>\n

When users open the native mail client after updating to the new version of iOS, they will be prompted to opt into MPP. This means adoption will gradually increase as people update their operating systems. This feature is not turned on by default but will automatically sync across devices associated with that user\u2019s Apple ID if enabled.<\/p>\n

When MPP is enabled, Apple Mail will route email messages through a proxy server that pre-loads content, including tracking pixels, before displaying it to users. Meaning all emails will be automatically marked as opened even if the user doesn\u2019t open the message.<\/p>\n

If the recipient does open the email, the request to download and display the message\u2019s content will come from an IP address assigned to the general region closest to the user, meaning any information provided by the pixel will be inaccurate. Marketers won\u2019t be able to tell who opened an email, when, or where.<\/p>\n

How many people will be affected?<\/h4>\n

In short, a significant part of your mailing list may no longer be tracked the same way. Nearly half of all email users use Apple\u2019s native Mail app\u00a0<\/a>so this update has the potential to have a big impact.<\/p>\n

iOS 15 is expected to be adopted fairly quickly, with about a 90% adoption rate within six months of launch (conversely, macOS Monterey adoption is expected to be much slower, with an estimated 50% adoption within seven months of launch). Currently, 96% of people have opted into Apple\u2019s App Tracking Transparency<\/a> tool so it\u2019s highly likely people will opt into the Mail Privacy Protection feature.<\/p>\n

What does the Mail Privacy Protection update mean for email marketing?<\/h4>\n

Open rate, the percentage of people who opened an email, is an important key performance indicator used to measure a campaign\u2019s effectiveness. Marketers often use open rates to understand how engaged their audience is and how that engagement changes over time. Since Apple users may be automatically reported as having opened an email, reporting will be inaccurate.<\/p>\n

This change will also affect all open-related metrics marketers including:<\/p>\n