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29 Comments

I don't Click on Newsletter Links Because I Know they Track me

I was self-reflecting on some of my online habits, and I realized that I do feel a huge barrier when it comes to clicking on newsletter links if I know they will be tracked. My e-mail is connected to my intimacy, and the feeling of beeing spied upon is harsh.

I wonder whether I am the only one with this feeling, and whether there are other newsletter creators that respect their readers privacy.

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    What a nonsense - you are worried about clicking on newsletter but at the same time you are using forums (like IH), Twitter, LinkedIn and probably other social media platforms. Maybe its the best to stop using internet :D

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    https://kleeppr.com

    Kleeppr lets you find interesting newsletters and subscribe to them anonymously.

    I am the founder. I started Kleeppr to solve personal pain points around newsletter discovery, privacy concerns about sharing personal or work email address, and inbox clutter. Kleeppr users search and subscribe to newsletters using KleepprID instead of their personal or work email and read/manage their subscriptions within the app.

    I bookmarked this thread sometime ago as reminder that I have bunch of folks sharing the same concerns as me. Please give a try and share feedback.

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    This is something that bothers me too, so when building Iteretta, I made sure that the subscribers can decide whether or not they are tracked.

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      This is a very interesting approach! So, the subscriber decides and not the newsletter owner?

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        Yes.

        The newsletter owner will be only be able to see if the subscriber has decided to turn tracking off.

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    I recently unsubscribed to a list that sent me an email asking why I hadn't opened their last few emails. I'm sure they sent it to a large group of subscribers, but that was crossing a boundary for me.

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      That's a whole another level! And probably they even did some A/B testing to see whether different wordings had different effects on people. I agree with you, that would have felt as well as a boundary-crossing.

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    I don't care about newsletters tracking which links I click. If it helps them give me more value, I encourage it.

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      Many do just because of force of habit, or because they didn't think about it. And in between they are facilitating data to larger organizations, such as MailChimp or ConvertKit

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        This comment was deleted a year ago.

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          User data is always "innocent": where you are, what browser you use, how often you click on a link, the text of the link you followed. What has no limits is the predictive power of seemingless innocent information.

          I have been reflecting about privacy and data for a while, so feel free to chime in if you want.

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          This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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            This comment was deleted a year ago.

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              Just with a few of those data points, it's easy to fingerprint your browser and track you across the web.

              https://panopticlick.eff.org/

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              That they can use it to predict, for example, your political affiliation and it prevents you from getting a job, or your tax score drops, which will impact on your lifestyle, your chances of success and even the chances of your children: look for example, the best indicators to predict admission to Ivy league universities in the US are normally economic success of the parents. And predictors for economic success can be related to access (i.e. better neighborhoods have more access to health, education, infrastructure etc.). Therefore, your drop in credit score pushes you to a somewhat predetermined life path. Sounds extreme, but not unrealistic, right? Not, at least, in statistical terms.

              And, more importantly, the data can be used in ways we haven't even envision yet, in contexts that can be radically different from what they are today. Today society may welcome people with other sexual orientations, there's no guarantee tomorrow it will be the same. Data collectors and aggregators do not forget, ever.

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                This comment was deleted a year ago.

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                  This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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                    Very well articulated! Kudos!

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    They should try using https://btfy.io for link shortening, then disable link tracking from their newsletter provider. That should still give them an idea of how their newsletter performs but still respects the privacy of the person that clicks it.

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      Indeed, there are many things that could be different, but still, people with knowledge and power to decide default to the data collection path

  7. 1

    Use brave browser that doesn't support cookies like that

  8. 1

    Out of interest – how do you check whether there is click tracking enabled on a newsletter?

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      If you hover your cursor over a link you can see the destination URL (at least in Brave/Chrome). Usually, tracked links will show a unique URL that their newsletter software gets redirected through, rather than the actual destination URL.

      Took a screenshot to show you an example using the Morning Brew newsletter - the link actually goes to TechCrunch, but you get sent there via a tracking link: https://imgur.com/a/Nh1BqTi

    2. 1

      The idea is that each link is unique to each recipient of the newsletter, and the link brings you to a page that stores who clicked what and when, and then redirects you. If you would use a link-shortener like @ajvillalobos suggested on a different comment, at least there would be a small degree of privacy respect (still you get cookies, ip-logging, etc. etc.).

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    I've seen a growing attention to this issue among newsletter publishers. My platform, Revue, is working on features for turning off or limiting tracking and I plan to use them. A few other email platforms already let you turn off tracking.

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      Substack gives very limited data on what specific users actually do.

      I can see open rate and % rate of links clicked, but I can't see who has clicked what.

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        Substack privacy policy is, to be honest, shameful (I'm just extracting parts):

        Whenever you interact with our Services, we automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser or device, which may include your IP address, geolocation data, device identification, “cookie” information, the type of browser and/or device you’re using to access our Services, and the page or feature you requested

        Our Services do not support Do Not Track requests at this time, which means that we collect information about your online activity both while you are using the Services and after you leave our Services.

        Business Transfers: We may choose to buy or sell assets, and may share and/or transfer customer information in connection with the evaluation of and entry into such transactions.

        I was really sorry when I saw that, the Twittergate. I really thought there was hope for new businesses with a different, more people-centered approach

        (I contacted Substack on two independent occasions and I had no answers whatsoever).

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        True, although Substack still have information on who clicks their customers' newsletter links. And they will have it aggregated across all their customers so they can say [email protected] clicked these 18 links across 10 newsletters.

        My solution has been to use a catch all email address which adds one more step between my real identity and email address(es).

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          It looks like a good idea, but when you click, your IP/Cookie/Browser information will reveal your identity. But, I agree, better than nothing for sure!

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    This comment was deleted 7 months ago.

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      The question is whether we, when we have a choice, we also track our users just out of fun, without measuring the consequences. The fact that others do it, is not a justification of any sort

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        This comment was deleted a year ago.

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          Perhaps not out of "fun" per se, but out of lack of reflection on what they are doing:

          https://m.signalvnoise.com/the-last-tracker-was-just-removed-from-basecamp-com/

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    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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      I'm glad I found at least one person also concerned!

      Do you check before submitting the form or you just wait for the confirmation to see who sends? Also, don't ConvertKit or Mailchimp allow for custom domains? (Just asking to see how you actually make the decision). You should also add Substack to your black list.

      So far, the only alternative I found is to self-host. That is the only way I can have peace of mind regarding my own newsletter subscribers. But I know this is not an option for everybody. Perhaps (and this is a big perhaps) EmailOctopus has a better track record?

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        This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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      This comment was deleted a year ago.

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