Why this exists

France and Italy now treat the open-tracking pixel in your emails the same way they treat website cookies. If you track opens for recipients in these countries, you need their consent first.

An open pixel is a tiny, invisible image in your email. When a recipient opens the email, the image loads from a server and records that this person opened it. Regulators see this as reading information from the recipient's device, which needs consent under the ePrivacy rules.

What both regulators expect

• Consent to email is not consent to track. A newsletter opt-in on its own doesn't cover open tracking.
• No answer means no. If a recipient hasn't given tracking consent, you can't track their opens.
• Opting out of tracking is separate from unsubscribing. Recipients must be able to stop tracking and still get your emails.

How France and Italy differ

Both regulators allow a few narrow uses without consent, such as security emails. These exceptions are interpreted strictly, so check with your legal team before relying on one.

How it works

You choose, separately for opens and clicks, which countries need consent. For each email, WebEngage checks the recipient's country and consent at the moment of sending. Delivery is never affected: every recipient still gets the email.

Two settings, one each for opens and clicks

• Track All Recipients (default): every recipient is tracked, as today.
• Require Consent In Selected Countries: recipients in the countries you pick are tracked only if they've consented. Everyone else is tracked as usual.

Consent attributes

What each recipient gets

The Clicks column applies only if you've turned on consent for click tracking. Otherwise clicks are tracked for everyone.

Good to know

• Country comes from the user's Country system attribute.
• No country set: the user is treated as needing consent.
• Empty country list: if you turn on consent and leave the list empty, every recipient in every country needs consent.
• All EU / EEA countries: use this shortcut in the country list to select them all at once.
• Read at send time: consent is checked when each email goes out. The next email reflects any change you make.
• Every campaign type: this applies to one-time, recurring, triggered, journey and transactional emails.

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Set it up

Set up consent in four steps. Do steps 1 and 2 before you save the setting, so tracking doesn't drop for recipients who have already said yes.

1. Populate the consent attributes
   • Set email_open_opt_in to true or false for your users through the Users REST API or a CSV user upload. Setting it through the SDK and the journey set-attribute block will follow in an upcoming release.
   • If you plan to gate clicks too, set email_click_opt_in the same way.
   • Already storing consent under another name, like OpenTrackingSubscription? Map it to email_open_opt_in when you send data to WebEngage.
2. Check that Country is filled in
   • WebEngage uses the Country system attribute to decide who is in a selected country.
   • Users with no country are treated as needing consent, so fill it in wherever you can.
3. Turn on consent for open tracking
   • Go to Channels > Email and scroll to Email Tracking.
   • Under Open Tracking, select Require Consent In Selected Countries.
   • In Countries that require consent, pick your countries, for example France and Italy.
   • Repeat under Click Tracking if your legal team wants clicks gated too.
   • Click Save.
4. Keep consent up to date
   • Whenever a recipient gives or withdraws consent, update the attribute through the API or CSV.
   • Give recipients a way to switch off tracking without unsubscribing, such as a toggle in your preference center or a landing page that updates the attribute.

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What changes in reports, segments and journeys

Opens from untracked recipients aren't recorded anywhere, so anything built on opens sees less data. The same applies to clicks if you gate click tracking.

FAQs

Will recipients without consent still get my emails?
Yes. They get the same email with no open pixel, and with plain links if you gate clicks. Delivery isn't affected.

Does the ESP send this consent to WebEngage?
No. Your ESP doesn't hold tracking consent. You collect it and pass it to WebEngage through the API or CSV.

I'm moving to WebEngage from another platform. What happens to consent I already have?
Export it from your consent platform or previous provider, and import it as email_open_opt_in (and email_click_opt_in if needed) before you turn on the setting.

Are recipients outside France and Italy affected?
No, as long as their Country is set and isn't in your selected list. They're tracked as they are today.

Do I need consent to track clicks?
The French and Italian guidance is about the open pixel. Click tracking consent is optional. Check with your legal team before you turn it on.

A recipient withdrew consent. When does tracking stop?
From the next email sent after you update their attribute, because consent is checked at send time.

Can recipients opt out of tracking but keep getting emails?
Yes, and both regulators expect you to offer this. Add a tracking toggle to your preference center or landing page that sets the attribute to false.

Official references