--- title: "Email tracking pixels: what you need to know and do" description: "What the CNIL now requires before you track email opens and clicks on your links, and how Sarbacane helps you collect and manage this consent." url: https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/385-email-tracking-pixels-what-you-need-to-know-and-do collection: "Tracking pixel" updated: 2026-11-12 language: en alternates: [fr, es] --- # Email tracking pixels: what you need to know and do What the CNIL now requires before you track email opens and clicks on your links, and how Sarbacane helps you collect and manage this consent. Since July 15, you can no longer track a contact's email opens or clicks without their explicit consent, unless they had not expressed any opposition before that date. This consent is collected through an unchecked checkbox, can be withdrawn at any time, and must be kept on your side as proof. ## How behavioral tracking works When you send an email through a tool like Sarbacane, an invisible one-pixel image is placed in the HTML code of the message. Think of it as an invisible read receipt: as soon as the recipient opens the email, this image loads on their device, and this loading triggers the counting of the open. You then know that an email has been opened, but also by whom, when, and from what type of device. The links in your emails work the same way for clicks: they are tracked links, which count each click by the recipient. Together, the pixel and tracked links make up what is called behavioral tracking: valuable data for evaluating the performance of your campaigns, but based on collecting information about the recipient, without their knowledge if nothing is done to inform them. ## The legal framework The CNIL, the French authority responsible for the protection of personal data, has published its recommendations on the subject in the interest of transparency. Your recipients must now give their explicit consent before you can track the opening of your emails and clicks on your links. > **Important.** Until July 14 inclusive, tracking remained possible for all your contacts, provided you had informed them of the tracking (pixel and tracked links) and given them a way to opt out. Since July 15, only contacts who had not expressed any opposition can continue to be tracked. For all the others, your emails must be sent without any tracking. ## Your existing contacts The principle above applies directly: a contact who had not expressed any opposition before July 15 remains tracked; a contact who opposed it no longer is. ## Your new contacts For any new collection, consent must be requested upfront. Add an unchecked checkbox to your collection forms now, so that each new subscriber accepts tracking with full knowledge of the facts. At the same time, update the information notices that accompany these forms. If you collect addresses in other ways (verbally, through a third party), consent can be collected afterwards, through a dedicated email, provided that only the consent collection link is tracked in that message. > **Best practices:** Without a positive response from a contact, wait six months before asking them again. Keep all these consents, timestamped, in your own system, independently of your sending software. This accountability file serves as proof in case of an audit, alongside other elements such as screenshots or the successive versions of your privacy policy. ## Withdrawing consent Each tracked email must contain a tracked link allowing the recipient to easily withdraw their consent. > **Note**: This link is separate from the unsubscribe link. A contact must be able to refuse behavioral tracking while continuing to receive your communications. This link must lead to a confirmation page, to avoid unintentional withdrawals or withdrawals generated by automated link pre-validation systems. > **Important:** Entering the relevant email address on this confirmation page is prohibited. This is precisely why a tracked link is needed: it identifies the contact without asking them to re-enter their email. You can also set up a preference center where your recipients manage, in one place, their choices about tracking pixels, tracking links and their unsubscription. As soon as a contact withdraws their consent, their decision applies to all subsequent sends. ## How Sarbacane supports you day to day To make these obligations easy to apply, behavioral tracking consent is managed end to end, directly in your usual tools: - without consent, Sarbacane tracks neither a contact's opens nor their clicks: the pixel is not inserted in their emails and their clicks are not recorded (their links still work normally); - you configure your tracking preferences for each campaign (standard confirmation page or custom redirect form); - you view and edit a contact's consent from their record, or in one click from the dedicated column in your contact directory; - you bulk import the behavioral tracking consent of your existing contacts with a simple CSV file; - you analyze behavioral tracking opt-outs, an indicator separate from standard unsubscribes in your campaign statistics; - the behavioral tracking opt-out link is automatically inserted in the footer of your new campaigns. For step-by-step details on each of these features, see the related articles below. ## Special cases > **Note.** Transactional messages necessary for the service expressly requested (confirmations, password resets, security alerts, administrative messages, newsletters, etc.) are not affected. Only marketing, commercial or internal communications are concerned. For an analysis tailored to your situation, contact your usual legal advisor. ## Further reading - [CNIL recommendation on tracking pixels](https://cnil.fr/fr/recommandation-pixel-suivi-courriels) - [CNIL webinar materials](https://cnil.fr/fr/webinaire-pixels-de-suivi-recommandations-cnil) ## Related articles - [How to configure tracking preferences for your campaigns in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/402.md) - [How to manage tracking consent in the Sarbacane contact directory?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/403.md) - [How to import tracking pixel consent in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/404.md) - [How to analyze the unsubscribe rate at the pixel in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/405.md) - [How to view and modify tracking pixel consent in Sarbacane?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/406.md) - [Why does an unsubscribe link for the tracking pixel appear in my Sarbacane emails?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/408.md)