How does Apple Privacy Update impact your campaigns?

As a business that leverages the power of email marketing, it's crucial to stay informed about the changing digital landscape. One of the recent shifts we need to talk about is Apple's Mail Privacy Protection, introduced in their iOS 15 and Mac OS Monterey update. Let's delve into what this means for your campaigns sent via theMarketer.

Mail Privacy Protection is a feature that Apple Mail users can enable to limit the data email marketers can collect. Previously, we could determine when and where an email was opened and the type of device used.

However, this new feature has changed this by limiting the tracking of opens and hiding IP addresses. This affects how businesses can gather third-party data by tracking consumer activity.

Under normal circumstances, when open tracking is enabled, theMarketer, like many other email marketing platforms, places a tiny, transparent image into each email campaign. This pixel loads each time the email is opened, and that's what we count as an "open". This data helps us estimate a contact's location and time zone, as well as determine their device type and email client.

Apple's Mail Privacy Protection changes this by preloading pixels, even if the email hasn't been opened.

In other words, if you send out a campaign to an audience segment that includes 100 Apple Mail users, only the data about the first Apple Mail user will be recorded. Clicks, however, are still being tracked. As a result, we will logically consider that each Apple Mail user who clicked on your campaign has also opened it, to make the results more accurate.

Consequently, we can't accurately count opens, estimate location, or determine device type or email client for these contacts. This will likely lead to all emails present in Apple Mail being reported as "opened," regardless of the contact's actual activity, inflating open rates.

The introduction of Apple's Mail Privacy Protection feature will likely distort several metrics on your theMarketer account. You may notice lower numbers for opens, higher clicks per unique opens, and potentially inaccurate geolocation and email client reporting for any contacts who use Apple Mail and enable the feature.

The IP addresses will be obscured for contacts who opt into Mail Privacy Protection, meaning you may notice fewer contacts in segments targeted to a location. Additionally, "Resend to non-openers" campaigns will not be delivered to contacts that opt into Apple Mail’s Privacy Protection feature.

In light of these changes, we at theMarketer recommend several adjustments:

• Focus more on clicks as a part of your email strategy. Clicks and purchases are more substantial signs of engagement than opens, and we don’t expect these are not impacted by Apple Mail Privacy Protection. Also, don’t forget to monitor your bounce and unsubscribe rate.
• Monitor your reach. Both contact ratings and email marketing engagement rely on opens, which may yield misleading results.
• Review your segments. If you’ve defined segments based on opens, contact rating, email client, location, or email marketing engagement, consider whether other operators or parameters are more appropriate.
• Update your automations. If your trigger is based on opens, consider revising it to include stronger engagement criteria like clicks or purchases.
• Adjust your A/B tests. If you’re running A/B tests based on open rates, your results might be skewed. Consider using the click rate to determine the winner instead.
• Use different criteria when you resend a campaign. Because all emails to Apple Mail users may look as though they’ve been opened, resending to “did not open” may not reach as many contacts as you want.

We understand this is a significant change, and rest assured, we are here to help navigate these challenges. Remember, the ultimate goal of your email campaigns is engagement, and together, we'll continue to strive towards achieving it. Stay tuned for more updates as we explore solutions and alternatives to address this change.