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“Spy Pixels in Emails Have Become Endemic
BBC | 16 February 2021 | Leo Kelion

The use of “invisible” tracking tech in emails is now “endemic,”

… and you thought a pandemic was pretty bad.

according to a messaging service that analysed its traffic at the BBC’s request.

Hey‘s review indicated that two-thirds of emails sent to its users’ personal accounts contained a “spy pixel,” even after excluding for spam.

I like the name of the company.

They should take part in a good Abbot-and-Costello routine.

Then they should partner with “Cut It Out!”

Its makers said that many of the largest brands used email pixels, with the exception of the “big tech” firms.

Oh, no; not them. Never them. They’ve got subtler means.

Defenders of the trackers . . .

“Hi, good-looking — what do you do for a living?”

“I defend hidden email trackers. I’m one of their defenders!”

. . . say they are a commonplace marketing tactic.

And several of the companies involved noted their use of such tech was mentioned within their wider privacy policies.

. . . about seventeen furlongs down in their End User Agreements.

Emails pixels can be used to log:

… if and when an email is opened
… how many times it is opened
… what device or devices are involved
… the user’s rough physical location, deduced from their internet protocol (IP) address

Now, how did they know my physical location is rough?

Tracking pixels are typically a .GIF or .PNG file that is as small as 1×1 pixels, which is inserted into the header, footer or body of an email.

Since they often show the colour . . .

“Colour.” Heh-heh-heh.

. . . of the content below, they can be impossible to spot with the naked eye even if you know where to look.

Recipients do not need to click on a link or do anything to activate them beyond open an email they are embedded in.

British Airways, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, HSBC, Marks & Spencer, Asos and Unilever are among UK brands Hey detected to be using them.

Tracking pixels are a standard feature of automated email services used by large and small businesses, and in many cases the facility is difficult to turn off.

(Customers, by contrast, are the opposite.)

Clients can use them to track how many emails in a specific campaign are opened in aggregate, as well as to automatically stop sending messages to customers who ignore them.

Adapt this artificial intelligence to the male of the species, and you will have made a real contribution.

The BBC asked some of the companies identified by Hey for their own response.

British Airways said: “We take customer data extremely seriously, and use a cross-industry standard approach that allows us to understand how effective our customer communications are.”

TalkTalk said: “As is common across our industry and others, we track the performance of different types of communications to understand what our customers prefer. We do not share this data externally.”

IMAO’s response to questions was to release an emu.

Babesleaga Group H Week 1 : Shannon Tweed vs Adrianne Barbeau

Wow, our 8th group and we got more a coming, I promise you. Today we kick off with this match.

Shannon Tweed vs Adrianne Barbeau

Go vote.

Shannon Tweed
Adrianne Barbeau

Poll closes on Sunday February 28th at 9:00 am.

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who do you prefer?
196 votes · 196 answers

Babesleaga Group H Prediction Pool

I should have started this last week but I only thought about it this week so whatever the early voting may tell you it will tell you.

Get your prediction in this week. Poll will close on Saturday night at 6:00 pm just before the Hootenanny.

So, who do you think will win the new Babesleaga group we have begun today?

Go vote.

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who will win this group?
96 votes · 96 answers

Babesleaga Group G : Final Week Results and Standings

The final counts are in and voting integrity returned. Here are the final week’s results and a salute to our group winner…

Michelle Pfeiffer

Results

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who do you prefer?
164 votes · 164 answers

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who do you prefer?
168 votes · 168 answers

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who do you prefer?
175 votes · 175 answers

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Who do you prefer?
172 votes · 172 answers

Final Standings

ContestantsRecordTotal Points
Michelle Pfeiffer7 – 0 – 0992
Kim Basinger6 – 1 – 0964
Uma Thurman5 – 2 – 0827
Gwyneth Paltrow3 – 4 – 0983
Andie MacDowell3 – 4 – 0800
Jamie Lee Curtis2 – 5 – 0644
Helena Bonham Carter1 -6 – 0589
Kate Winslet1 – 6 – 0581

Our lineup for the coming week. All polls end Sunday February 28th at 9:00 am.

  • 10:00 am Shannon Tweed vs Adrianne Barbeau
  • 2:00 pm Linda Blair vs Sybil Danning
  • 6:00 pm Caroline Munro vs Brigitte Nielsen
  • 8:00 pm Joan Severance vs Traci Lords

After researching the picture this should be the Boson Brigade.