Apple recently introduced new privacy features that could impact marketing efforts and metrics.
Apple’s iOS 15 mobile operating system launched in September and will continue to roll out over the next few months. One privacy-related update is “mail privacy protection,” which will prevent senders from tracking if and when emails are opened in Apple Mail and will hide recipients’ IP addresses. Also, a “hide my email” feature will generate unique, random email addresses to keep personal email addresses private. This means that metrics may show multiple contacts opening an email, when in reality only one person opened it.
So in the short term, metrics may show open rates rising even when there is no change in engagement. Apple will also load tracking pixels on behalf of users, so emails will be “opened” whether recipients actually open them or not.
In CRM (customer relationship management) systems like HubSpot, these changes will impact features that rely on email open tracking, such as properties, work flows, reports, and lists. With Apple’s updates in mind, you should review existing reporting and other processes that might be affected and monitor the impact of the changes so you can adjust your systems accordingly.
In the long term, focus on creating engaging experiences for your customers and use more reliable metrics to track engagement, such as clicks and replies.
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