How analytics work

This article covers the basic principles of the technology used to track opens and clicks in JungleMail.

How opens and clicks are tracked

When you send a newsletter with JungleMail, a tiny transparent image – usually just one pixel in size – is inserted at the bottom of the email HTML body. This image is also known as a tracking pixel or a pixel tag, and is unique for each email. When a user opens the newsletter and opts to download images, the pixel is also downloaded, requiring the user’s email client to send a request with specific parameters to the JungleMail server, where the pixel is stored. Once the request is received, JungleMail Analytics service can bind this specific parameter with a recipient and mark that a specific email was opened. If an email client downloads images, and the recipient uses the preview pane to read the email, it will be counted as opened.

If a user clicks on a link in the email, the open is registered regardless of whether the user's email client downloads images. However, if images are blocked and there are no clicks, the open will not register in the analytics. If you have hundreds of recipients in your company, the number of such "hidden" opens may be large enough to give the wrong impression about the true reach of your message.

If you are sending newsletters to recipients outside your organization, it’s up to recipients to download external images. However, when it comes to internal newsletters, network administrators have a lot more control over user's email client behavior and can set a policy to download all images from JungleMail automatically.