Read receipts work by detecting when an email’s images are loaded. Most of the time that happens because a person opened the email. Sometimes, though, software loads the images on its own. Here are the usual reasons — and what OpenedYet does about each.
Apple Mail Privacy Protection
Apple Mail on iPhone, iPad and Mac can download the images in every email in the background, through Apple’s servers, whether or not the person reads it. To a simple tracker, every email sent to that person looks opened within minutes.
What we do: we recognise these automatic fetches and label them “Apple Mail auto-open”. They don’t turn your tick green and don’t trigger alerts. You can still see them in the email’s details.
Security scanners
Many companies run incoming mail through security services that open messages and visit links to check for threats — often within seconds of delivery.
What we do: opens and clicks from known scanners, or that happen within a couple of seconds of sending, are set aside as automatic.
Image proxies
Gmail, Yahoo and others load images through their own proxy servers. That’s normal and still means the recipient opened the email — but it hides their location and real device. That’s why device details are sometimes “unknown”.
Other real-world reasons
- Preview panes. Some email apps open a message when it’s selected in the list, even if the person only glanced at it.
- Forwarding. If your email was forwarded, someone else may have opened the copy.
- Another device. They may have opened it on a phone or tablet and forgotten.