MailTrackerBlocker is a tracker blocker for Mail. Email marketers and other interests often embed invisible trackers in HTML emails so they can track how often, when and where you open your emails. Enable the included Mail extension to block spy pixels from your emails.
Available in the Mac App Store
Features
- Mail extension.
- Privacy protection: Blocks most spy pixels which may capture your IP address and function as read receipts and more.
Requirements
- macOS Ventura 13 or newer
- Apple Mail
Usage
How to enable the tracker
- Open the Mail app.
- Goto Mail > Settings > Extensions.
- Check
MailTrackerBlocker (Block-only)to enable it.
Enabling Mail > Privacy > "Block All Remote Content" with MailTrackerBlocker enabled is redundant; disable "Block All Remote Content" for the best experience.
(Optional) Advanced Tracker
In your Mail > Settings > Extensions, you may check MailTrackerBlocker instead of MailTrackerBlocker (Block-only) for a more advanced blocker (can block unindentified spy pixels) with tracker labeling functionality (enabling the Tracker Report). If you have multiple message security extensions installed, set "Message security extension" to MailTrackerBlocker to ensure trackers are blocked.
Warning
If you experience Mail crashing or slow attachment email loading, please disable this MailTrackerBlocker extension and enable the MailTrackerBlocker (Block-only) extension instead. I've filed these two bugs with Apple (FB12794488, FB12796974) because these will need to be addressed by them (in the form of a macOS update, most likely). I recommend filing your own issues with Apple's Feedback Assistant to bring more visibility to these bugs. If you're having trouble starting Mail due to crashing on startup, deleting ~/Library/Mail/V10/MailData/AppExtensionUserPreferences.plist will disable Mail extensions.
Tracking Report
Open the MailTrackerBlocker app or tap the 🧩 jigsaw puzzle icon in Mail that appears over the message pane header (note: the 🧩 jigsaw puzzle icon is hidden if the selected e-mail has an attachment). The Tracking Report shows a rolling 30-day overview of e-mails grouped by tracker along with some frequency statistics.
Important
The Tracking Report does not work with the MailTrackerBlocker (Block-only) extension.
FAQ
Does this work with Mail Privacy Protection?
Yes, even in network environments (e.g. VPN) where Mail Privacy Protection doesn't work, MailTrackerBlocker will still block and identify trackers if you choose to "Load Remote Content".
Note: Mail Privacy Protection's proxy will still fetch the tracker image, triggering the tracker after an unknown period of time. In the period of time before this happens, if you open your email without MailTrackerBlocker, the proxy will fetch the tracking image and trigger the tracker at that moment still letting the tracker know your exact opening time.
Contact
Feel free to send me a message @apparition47 on Twitter or GitHub.