Will Apple MPP or Gmail machine opens occur on emails delivered to spam?

Key findings

• Inbox delivery is key: Apple MPP and Gmail machine opens generally only trigger for emails successfully delivered to the inbox.
• No content download in spam: If an email is categorized as spam or junk, its content, including tracking pixels, is typically not downloaded.
• Purpose of pre-fetching: MPP anonymizes user data by pre-fetching content. This action is not intended for spam.
• Impact on metrics: This implies that a recorded machine open is a strong indicator of inbox placement, despite its impact on traditional open rate metrics. You can learn more about this in our guide on how MPP affects tracking.

Key considerations

• Deliverability is paramount: Focus on improving your email deliverability to the inbox to ensure your emails are seen and any machine opens accurately reflect potential engagement. Our article why emails go to spam provides comprehensive solutions.
• Beyond open rates: Given the rise of MPP, email marketers should shift their focus to other engagement metrics, such as clicks, conversions, and reply rates, for a more accurate understanding of recipient interaction. Mailchimp provides further insights into Apple's MPP functionality.
• Filtering processes: Mailbox providers might scan emails before final folder placement, but this pre-scanning is distinct from user-initiated or MPP-driven content downloads.
• Spam trap opens: While unrelated to MPP or Gmail machine opens, it's worth noting that some advanced spam traps do interact with emails.

Key opinions

• Inbox prerequisite: Many marketers find that machine opens, whether from Apple or Gmail, are indicators of inbox placement, not spam folder delivery.
• No spam interaction: The consensus is that content is not downloaded or processed by MPP when an email goes to spam, preventing false positives for opens.
• Shift in metrics: Marketers are increasingly looking past open rates as a primary engagement metric for Apple MPP users, focusing on clicks and conversions instead.
• Deliverability emphasis: The changes emphasize the need for robust deliverability strategies, as getting to the inbox is the first step for any engagement, machine-generated or human.

Key considerations

• Accurate reporting: Understand that machine opens can inflate reported open rates. Marketers need to know how to identify artificial opens and adjust their analytics accordingly.
• Focus on value: With less reliable open tracking for some segments, focus on delivering highly relevant content to drive deeper engagement and conversions.
• User experience: Ensure your emails provide a great user experience, irrespective of privacy features, to encourage actual clicks and interactions.
• Segmentation: Segment audiences based on their email client usage where possible to better interpret engagement metrics. Twilio SendGrid provides a complete guide to Apple MPP.

Key opinions

• Inbox-only pre-fetching: Experts agree that Apple's MPP only pre-fetches content for emails that have been filtered into the inbox.
• Gmail's process: Tests show Gmail's machine opens (pixel fires) occur only when a user opens an email in the inbox, not in the spam folder.
• Intermediary scanning: Some experts point out that mailbox providers may scan email content before final folder placement, but this is a distinct process from the public-facing machine opens.
• Signal for deliverability: A machine open, therefore, serves as a strong signal that an email successfully reached the inbox, despite obscuring true human engagement.

Key considerations

• Accurate interpretation: Marketers must interpret open rates with care, understanding that machine opens inflate numbers for inboxed emails but don't apply to spam.
• Deliverability focus: The primary goal remains ensuring emails land in the inbox. Our email deliverability report highlights current challenges.
• Beyond open pixels: Reliance on the tracking pixel for opens is decreasing. Experts recommend focusing on other engagement metrics. You can refer to this article on Apple MPP for more.
• Authentication importance: Strong email authentication (like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM) is vital for inbox placement and avoiding the spam folder. Learn more about a simple guide to authentication.

Key findings

• MPP's design: Documentation confirms that Apple MPP's primary function is to enhance user privacy by pre-loading content for inboxed emails.
• Spam folder exclusion: Official notes imply that emails in the spam or junk folder are outside the scope of MPP's pre-fetching activities, as they are not meant for the user's primary viewing.
• Privacy objective: The core purpose of MPP is to hide IP addresses and prevent tracking pixel abuse for legitimate mail, not to scan spam.
• Impact on senders: Documentation highlights that senders will see inflated open rates from MPP users, but this only applies to messages that successfully reach the inbox.

Key considerations

• Focus on deliverability: Achieving inbox placement remains critical. Documentation implies that machine opens indicate this success.
• Metric re-evaluation: Slightly less than half of businesses are missing the inbox, so deliverability is essential. Learn more about email deliverability issues.
• Filter processes: Mailbox providers' internal filtering and scanning processes occur before delivery to any folder, and these are separate from user-facing privacy features. Our article about Apple Mail user settings elaborates on this.
• Spam filtering effectiveness: The existence of MPP does not diminish the effectiveness of spam filtering; it merely changes how opens are tracked for valid emails.