Fears grow Apple’s new Mail Privacy Protection could kill off email newsletters for good
But others say there are plenty of other metrics for measuring success
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Apple’s new Mail Privacy Protection feature, that the company hopes can bolster the privacy of the defaultemail apponiOS 15and MacOS, may also inadvertently deliver a devastating blow to email newsletters.
Introduced at the recentWWDC 2021, Mail Privacy Protection implements a host of features to prevent common email marketing ploys such as the use of invisible tracking pixels. Apple says the new feature will also mask users’ IP address to prevent it from being linked to other online activity or for determining their location.
In essence, the new feature will restrict the amount of information that people who send you emails can collect about you.
But some observers have argued that in addition to dissuading advertisers, the curbs will also effectively cripple email newsletters.
Email newsletters have witnessed a sort of a resurgence of late. The growth of newsletter platforms such asSubStackhas attracted the attention of traditional publications such as New York Times, along with Facebook and Twitter who have reportedly doubled-down on their newsletter strategies.
Newsletter adverts
Some journalists believe that with its Mail Privacy Protection update, Apple is now going after the digital ad business hook, line, and sinker, which wouldn’t end well for newsletter publishers.
While Apple hasn’t yet shared details about the exact working of the feature, the company detailed its effectiveness atWWDC, and extended a “couched warning” to publishers believesApple Insider.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
“This is another sign that Apple’s war against targeted advertising isn’t just about screwing Facebook — they’re also coming for your Substack,” wrote the co-founder ofNieman LabJoshua Benton.
Benton quotes recent market-share numbers from Litmus that show that for May 2021, 93.5% of all email opens on phones come in Apple Mail oniPhonesoriPads, while on the desktop Apple Mail is responsible for 58.4% of all email opens.
Notably though the new Mail Privacy Protection feature would only impact ad-based newsletters, and it might affect paid newsletters.
“Writers can triangulate reader engagement by plenty of metrics that are still available to them, including the views their stories get on the web, the overall growth of their mailing list, and — most meaningful of all — the growth of their revenue,” Newton argues.
ViaApple Insider
With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.
Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics
This new phishing strategy utilizes GitHub comments to distribute malware
Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One review: a great beginner’s flight stick
