What is trail email?

Trail email, also known as email tracking or email tracing, is the process of monitoring an email and its contents as it travels from the sender to the recipient. This technique is often used for marketing and sales purposes, as it allows companies to gather information about whether recipients received and opened their emails, clicked on links, and forwarded the message to others.

Trail email works by inserting a small tracking pixel or beacon into an email which sends data back to the sender when the email is opened. This information can include the time and date the email was opened, the location of the recipient, and the type of device used to open the email.

While trail email can be useful for businesses looking to monitor the success of their email campaigns, it has also raised concerns about privacy and data tracking. Many email clients now offer the option to block tracking pixels and beacons, allowing users to opt out of trail email monitoring.