Webmail tracking: Has the mail been opened?

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FunnyPocketBook

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Jul 17, 2015
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Total newbie question: Can I somehow track emails going out from webmail?
I have a website and with the webhosting came email addresses that I could use. (is this even English?) My host is using roundcube as email client, or whatever the real term for this is.
I know that there are services that allow tracking for Gmail and Outlook, but I couldn't see an option to "connect" my email from the website with Gmail or Outlook. I still want to know whether my emails have been opened or not, as this is essential to me for organizing the dates.
I won't mind it if I have to do some non-trivial steps to achieve the tracking, as long as there is a descriptive guide to do that. By googling I found Piwik, but I have absolutely no idea what exactly it is and what I can do with it.
Also, since English isn't my native tongue and I am totally new on this topic, I'd appreciate correcting my mistakes (using the wrong terms etc.)

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
Standard SMTP / POP protocol support "Return receipt" and "Read receipt", but these are largely ignored these days.

You "could" track whether a user has opened your email if you embed unique picture into the HTML email, and track whether this link has hit from the HTTP server. But this is not a sure way, since many email clients disable displaying of linked pictures because of this exact reason.

So - no, there's no sure way to see whether your email has been opened (and it's completely different question whether it has been read, or sent directly to the trash).
Standard SMTP / POP protocol support "Return receipt" and "Read receipt", but these are largely ignored these days.

You "could" track whether a user has opened your email if you embed unique picture into the HTML email, and track whether this link has hit from the HTTP server. But this is not a sure way, since many email clients disable displaying of linked pictures because of this exact reason.

So - no, there's no sure way to see whether your email has been opened (and it's completely different question whether it has been read, or sent directly to the trash).
 
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