Email communication can be frustrating because you cannot tell whether the intended recipient has read your message. And considering that one prominent UK study showed B2C email marketing campaigns generating over a ÂŁ40 return for every ÂŁ1 spent, you need to find out if people are reading your email.

However, the bad news is that mail services like Gmail lack built-in features for tracking when users open your newsletter or private message. On the bright side, you can find Gmail extensions for viewing read receipts.

In this article, we’ll explain how to turn on read receipts in Gmail. We’ll also discuss the importance of receipts for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

What Is Email Tracking in Gmail?

Email tracking is the process of monitoring whether the addressee has opened your message. Think of tracking as a read receipt for Gmail. The extension or software collects metadata from the mail once it leaves your inbox to determine what happens in the destination mailbox. 

You can find out the following when using an email tracker: 

  • How many times email has been viewed
  • When it was opened
  • Whether it ended up in the inbox or junk folder.

Contrary to most people’s fears, email tracking does not give you access to the contents of the recipient’s inbox — that would be a jailable offense due to the blatant disregard for privacy. Far from it; it is absolutely legal to turn on trackers in your email.

Email monitoring extensions sometimes have the option to notify users that the email contains a tracker. So, you can activate this feature for the sake of absolute transparency.

Why Do You Need Read Receipts in Gmail?

Some people argue that adding read receipts to your mail service is overkill, citing that it defeats the general core principles of email communication. However, the truth is that email tracking has benefits for non-commercial users, marketers, and businesses. 

Here are the benefits of using an email read receipt: 

  1. Email receipts show if the person you are contacting has read the message. For instance, an email tracker will help you know when to follow up on that introductory email. 
  2. Read receipts increase the success of marketing campaigns by helping salespeople know when to resend emails to specific segments that haven’t seen the message. This is called retargeting.
  3. Using a read receipt increases email deliverability by giving you a better view of those bouncing your emails versus those engaging. It will also help you improve your email content to suit your target audience and establish your domain as a non-spammy account.
  4. Receipts in Gmail show you advanced engagement analytics. Some trackers will also show you how often your intended audience has viewed the mail. You will also get instant notifications whenever the intended recipients view the email. 

How to Turn On Read Receipts in Gmail 

Like other mail services, Gmail doesn’t have a default tracker. The only legally binding workaround is to use an extension like Free Email Tracker to display a return receipt on Gmail. 

Free Email Tracker is a PandaDoc Chrome extension that notifies you when an email is opened, as well as how many times it was opened. This Gmail tracker also displays the exact time the recipient opened the message.

To set up Free Email Tracker for Gmail, here are the steps to follow:

  1. Install the extension on Chrome.
  2. Send your emails as usual.
  3. Enter the “Sent” folder to see which emails have been opened.
  4. If you see one tick (✅), it hasn’t been opened.
  5. If you see two ticks (âś…âś…), it has been opened.
  6. Hover over the tick icons (âś…âś…) to see when and how often your email has been opened.
Email Tracking Example

Salespeople, students, civil servants, content marketers, and anyone who works with emails can use this monitoring tool to track engagement and know when to follow up.

Here are other reasons people prefer using Free Email Tracker for Gmail:

  • It is free to use.
  • It doesn’t show ads.
  • You can send and track unlimited emails.
  • You can analyze performance by gathering engagement analytics.
  • The Chrome extension blends seamlessly with Gmail.
  • You can toggle monitoring on or off.
  • It uses encryption protocols for secure data transmission.
  • The recipient won’t know that you are tracking the email.
  • Anybody can work with it because of its user-friendly interface.

Conclusion

Adding a tracking extension to your Gmail is a game changer because it allows you to monitor when people open the emails you send to them. Whether you are a student, government official, or marketer, you can use a tracker to save time and increase productivity. Add Free Email Tracker to your Chrome browser and stay ahead of all internal and external communication.

FAQs

  • No, Gmail doesn’t have a standard read receipt like instant messaging apps. However, you can learn how to get a read receipt on Gmail by using a third-party email tracker in your Gmail. Tools like PandaDoc’s Free Email Tracker will help you view read receipts for no cost.

  • No, the recipient won’t know you’ve activated read receipts on your end. For them, it will be business as usual. But at the same time, you will be able to monitor when they open your email and how many times they’ve viewed it.

  • Yes, you can tell if someone has viewed your email if you have an email tracker. Most mail services like Gmail, Yahoo mail, and Outlook don’t have default trackers for sent messages. But to learn how to see if someone reads your email without read receipt, you need to add an extension to your Gmail.

  • Yes, using tracking solutions is legal because you are not violating the recipient’s privacy. Free Email Tracker follows GDPR guidelines by ensuring you don’t have unauthorized access to the recipient’s mailbox. To be clear, you won’t be able to see the actual contents of the recipient’s inbox.

  • The main benefit of email tracking is that it gives you tremendous insights into user engagement. You no longer need to guess whether the person you are trying to contact has read the message — or if they forgot to reply. Email tracking also improves the deliverability of your emails, which boosts your marketing conversions and efficiency.