Is Apple killing email marketing?

In recent years, the online landscape has experienced a significant shift towards consumer privacy, largely influenced by tech giants and regulatory changes. This evolution has fundamentally transformed our approach to email marketing.

Central to these changes are initiatives such as Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) and Link Tracking Protection, along with global data protection laws. These developments have necessitated a re-evaluation of traditional email metrics, particularly open and click rates. So, is technology truly undermining email marketing, or is it simply prompting us to adapt?

The evolving landscape of email marketing

Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), introduced in iOS 15 (September 2021), shook the marketing world. It stopped senders from accurately knowing when recipients opened emails on Apple devices. This was done by pre-loading email content, regardless of whether users actually opened the messages. The result? Artificially inflated open rates which means this metric no longer reflects true user engagement.

Here’s how it works: MPP is estimated to be enabled on about 97% of Apple iPhone devices. When a user with MPP enabled receives an email, Apple’s servers automatically download the email’s content, including the tracking pixel used to record opens. This process occurs whether or not the recipient actually views the message. As a result, Apple Mail users began showing nearly 100% open rates. While this may seem like a marketer’s dream, it actually creates a nightmare for accurate measurement.

In 2023, Apple extended its privacy features with Link Tracking Protection. This stripped tracking parameters from links in emails opened on Apple Mail. This made it harder for marketers to track user journeys and attribute conversions. Many email links use UTM parameters and other tracking codes. These codes help marketers understand which campaigns drive traffic and conversions. With these parameters removed, the connection between email engagement and website behavior became much harder to establish.

These changes were not isolated. They were part of a broader privacy movement. This movement included:

• GDPR in Europe, with its strict requirements for consent and data minimization.
• CCPA and other US state-level privacy laws, give consumers more control over their personal information.
• Similar regulations emerging globally, from Brazil’s LGPD to China’s PIPL.
• Growing consumer awareness about data privacy and increasing expectations for transparency.
• Similar privacy initiatives from other tech giants like Google, phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome.

The timing of Apple’s changes was particularly relevant as marketers were becoming more sophisticated with email automation and personalization—techniques that relied heavily on open tracking. Many marketers had invested significantly in platforms and strategies that suddenly faced these fundamental challenges.

The marketer’s dilemma

Marketers who relied on open rates as a key performance indicator have faced significant challenges due to recent changes in email tracking. These challenges extend beyond simple reporting issues:

• Unreliable metrics: Open rates became artificially inflated, making it difficult to gauge true engagement. Many marketers experienced a sudden spike in open rates from 15-25% to 40-60%, leading to confusion about actual performance.
• Disrupted automations:  Email sequences that relied on opens for triggering actions needed re-evaluation. For example, re-engagement campaigns intended to send follow-up emails to non-openers failed to work properly because most recipients appeared to have opened their emails.
• Segmentation challenges: Lists used to categorize “engaged” and “unengaged” users based on open rates have become less accurate. This inaccuracy affects everything from managing sender reputation to list cleaning practices.
• A/B testing complications: Testing subject lines based on open rates is no longer reliable. Many marketers have used this practice over the years, only to find their testing strategies compromised.
• Deliverability concerns: Some email deliverability practices relied on engagement metrics, including opens, to maintain good inbox placement. The artificial inflation of these metrics required new approaches to maintaining sender reputation.
• Revenue attribution struggles: Businesses that depend on email for revenue generation find it more challenging to link email campaigns to sales without reliable tracking from email clicks to website conversions.

The marketing industry has shown remarkable resilience. Despite initial fears that these changes might signal the end of email marketing, both marketers and technology platforms have embraced them.

At Dotdigital, for instance, we’ve shifted our focus to click rates and other engagement metrics. To make sure these clicks and engagements are actually from humans and not just automated systems, Dotdigital offers Non-Human interaction (NHI) filters.

Think of these filters as a way to clean up your reports. They’re designed to spot and remove activity from things like security programs that automatically check emails. This means when you look at your engagement numbers, you’re seeing a more accurate picture of how real people are interacting with your emails.

By turning on the NHI filter in your Dotdigital settings, you can have more confidence in your reports. They become more reliable because the filters use a smart system to tell the difference between human behavior and likely machine activity. This helps you get a clearer understanding of what your audience is truly engaging with.

Thriving in the age of data privacy

Yes, Apple’s shifts have undeniably changed the email game. But email isn’t going anywhere, it’s thriving. Our 2025 Global Benchmark Report shows that email sends are up by 23.9% globally. This is a clear indicator that email maintains its status as a key channel for brands. 

We also know that 73% of consumers still prefer email as their primary marketing channel. That’s because email offers something unique: a direct, personalized, and permission-based connection.

The good news? The email industry; both marketers and tech platforms, has embraced the changes. The industry has actively chosen to work with, rather than against, the tech giants to align on this new approach. Where MPP could have thrown us off course, marketers and platforms have adapted and strengthened. We’re trading vanity metrics and focusing on what really matters – engagement.

Here’s how to make the most of email in a privacy-focused world: 

1. Deepen customer relationships

Go beyond the transaction. Focus on building genuine connections with your subscribers to ensure the channel remains a favorite. Deliver value by creating high-quality, engaging content that provides real value to your subscribers. Engagement relies on your emails offering something to the subscriber. 

Make sure not every email is pushing a sale or an action and add in editorial, content-based sends to your email calendar. This could be a letter from your founder to celebrate a business milestone or relevant national day, behind the scenes glimpses of your latest photoshoot, and so on. 

Make it a two-way conversation. Ask your customers for feedback and analyze their preferences and engagement patterns to understand what they like. Then, provide content that aligns with their interests. By offering engaging content, not just calls-to-action, you can deepen customer relationships and maintain the value of your emails.

2. Personalize, personalize, personalize

In a similar vain, personalization is key to keeping your audience engaged with your emails. Move beyond basic name personalization and delve into more sophisticated and impactful personalization. Understand your audience’s preferences, behaviors, and needs, and personalize your messaging accordingly. Use dynamic content to deliver personalized experiences that resonate with each individual subscriber at scale.

3. Prioritize first and zero-party data

As third-party cookies decline, first-party data becomes increasingly valuable. This type of data is collected directly from your customers through their interactions with your brand, such as purchases, website activity, and customer service interactions. Since this data is owned by you, it remains unaffected by external changes, such as updates from Apple.

In addition to first-party data, zero-party data is also important. Zero-party data refers to information that customers willingly share with you, such as through surveys, forms, and preference centers. This type of data is incredibly valuable because it reflects customers’ explicit interests and preferences.

By prioritizing both first-party and zero-party data, you can build a strong and reliable dataset that you own. This information can drive your strategy, enabling you to create targeted and effective campaigns that resonate with your audience. Be sure to regularly collect and update this data to maintain its accuracy and relevance.

4. Think beyond the inbox

The digital landscape is constantly changing, and putting all your eggs in one basket can be risky. Circumstances often shift unexpectedly, so it’s important to future-proof your connections by amplifying your email marketing with cross-channel tactics

Integrate email with other channels like SMS, web personalization, and push notifications to create a seamless cross-channel customer experience. This allows you to reach your audience across multiple touchpoints and maintain consistent engagement. While email is a key channel for engagement, diversifying and broadening your reach is only a good thing and future-proofs your reach from any more changes to the way we work now.

5. Measure what matters

It’s time to ditch the vanity metrics and embrace the data that truly reflects your email performance. 

Clicks

Clicks are the gold standard for measuring email engagement. Unlike opens, which can occur passively, clicks indicate that subscribers have taken intentional action. They reflect a genuine interest in your content and are a more reliable measure of engagement.

With increasing link tracking protection measures traditional open rates are becoming less accurate. These protections often mask or block the tracking pixels used to register opens. However, clicks remain a direct and verifiable action.

By setting clicks as your primary engagement metric in Dotdigital, you gain a clear and accurate picture of how your audience interacts with your email content, even amidst evolving privacy landscapes. This allows you to:

• Pinpoint high-performing links: Identify which content resonates most strongly with your subscribers.
• Optimize for engagement: Refine your messaging and offers based on concrete click data.
• Maintain reliable reporting: Secure accurate insights regardless of link tracking protection.

You can also track:

• Conversions: Go beyond the click and track what happens next. Are subscribers completing purchases, filling out forms, or taking other desired actions? This reveals the real impact of your emails.
• Track over time: Track your opens and clicks over time, as long as there isn’t a huge change in external factors (e.g. another big iOS update), these metrics will all be impacted in the same way month to month and send to send. This means you can still see if your emails are seeing more or less engagement over time and from campaign to campaign.
• Revenue attribution: Don’t just focus on single touchpoints. Analyze the entire customer journey to understand how email contributes to revenue generation.
• Deliverability: Keep a close eye on inbox placement and spam complaints to ensure your emails are reaching your audience.
• List growth: Monitor your subscriber list growth rate to ensure your audience is expanding. A healthy growth rate shows your strategy is attracting new, interested customers.
• Churn: Activity track your unsubscribe rate and understand the reasons behind subscriber loss. High churn may indicate problems with content relevance, email frequency, or list quality, all tied to your email strategy. 

By focusing on these metrics, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s behavior and the effectiveness of your email strategy.

Benchmark your way to strategic advantage

To gain a deeper understanding of industry trends and benchmarks, check out Dotdigital’s Global Benchmark Report. This report provides invaluable insights into how your email performance compares to others in your industry and region.

Use it to identify areas for improvement, set realistic goals, and track your progress over time. By benchmarking your performance, you can make informed decisions and optimize your email strategy for maximum impact. Consider this report your best friend and ultimate strategic marketing tool.

The bottom line

Tech changes have undoubtedly transformed email marketing, but they haven’t killed it. Instead, they’ve spurred innovation and a focus on genuine engagement. By adapting to these changes, you can build stronger, more trusted relationships with your audiences. Accepting, understanding, and adapting to these changes has made sure that email marketing is evolving with consumer attitudes, rather than being rigid and getting left behind.